Spacewatchers are looking forward to China's next space mission after Shenzhou 8's successful docking mission to Tiangong 1 space laboratory.

Space Daily writer Morris Jones said that China's next mission, Shenzhou 9, is expected to carry their first astronauts to inhabit a Chinese space laboratory.

Shenzhou 9 may lift off at some time in the vicinity of late March 2012, according to Morris. "This will give China enough time to digest the results of the Shenzhou 8 mission and prepare the next spacecraft for launch. It also coincides with the time when Tiangong will fall from its currently raised orbit to a more accessible lower altitude," Morris said.

The Shenzhou 9 spacecraft should be identical to Shenzhou 8 since the latest three Shenzhou spacecraft are mass-production models with an identical design. The flight of the uncrewed Shenzhou 8 spacecraft which made two successful dockings with the laboratory showed that this new production model of Shenzhou works well.

According to Morris, the Shenzhou 8 mission was more than just a docking and spacecraft test but it was also a rehearsal of the upcoming Shenzhou 9 mission. While Shenzhou 8 flight duration of roughly 17 days, with around 14 days at Tiangong, will probably be repeated, it is expected that Shenzhou 9 will carry two astronauts.

Morris speculates that the two astronauts to fly on Shenzhou 9 will be previously unflown astronauts from China's original training batch which is believed to consist of 12 men, all of whom are Air Force fighter pilots. Spacewatchers also know that there are two astronaut-trainers who underwent cosmonaut training in Russia to pass on their skills to Chinese astronauts.

As to the possibility of including a woman in the space mission, Morris said that it is clear that China wants to get a woman into space quickly, and that mission is expected to be Shenzhou 10, which is slated for the second half of 2012.

Shenzhou 10 will be the third spacecraft to dock with the Tiangong 1 space laboratory and the second crewed expedition to this module. After Shenzhou 10, it is expected that no other spacecraft will rendezvous with Tiangong 1, the report said.