China launched a space mission Monday expected to set a record for the longest stay for a Chinese astronaut in space.
The astronauts, Jin Haipeng, 49, and Chen Dong, 37, blasted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northern China at 7:30 a.m. local time, the BBC News reported. They will spend 30 days in space, living in China's orbiting Tiangong 2 space lab.
The launch is a step by China toward future crewed missions to the Moon or Mars, BBC News said.
Fan Changlong, a vice chairman of China's Central Military Commission, met with the astronauts Monday before the launch, the country's state news agency Xinhua reported, according to Reuters.
"You are going to travel in space to pursue the space dream of the Chinese nation," Fan said to the astronauts, Reuters reported. "With all the scientific and rigorous training, discreet preparation, and rich experience accumulated from previous missions, you will accomplish the glorious and tough task... We wish you success and look forward to your triumphant return."
China launched the Tiangong 2 space laboratory, or "Heavenly Palace 2," into space last month. China's first space station, the Tiangong 1, is preparing to fall back to Earth sometime in late 2017, The Guardian reported last month.
The Guardian said there were some reports that stated that China's space agency had lost control of the space lab, which was originally launched in 2011. Chinese space authorities told Xinhua that they believe most of the space lab will burn up on its return.
China has stressed that its space program is for peaceful purposes, according to Reuters. President Xi Jinping has called for China to establish itself as a space power.
The U.S. Defense Department, though, has worried about China's space capabilities, charging that the Asian country was pursuing activities targeted at preventing other nations from using space-based assets in a crisis, Reuters wrote.
China, which is not involved in the International Space Station, plans to launch the main module of its own permanent space station by about 2018 and have it manned by about 2022.