China's longest manned space mission has begun with a successful blast off the Shenzhou 10 capsule carrying three astronauts. The 15-day mission will dock with a space lab and educate young people about science.

The Shenzhou 10 capsule blasted off as per schedule at 5:38 P. M. from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on the edge of the Gobi Desert.

Nie Haisheng is the commander, whereas Zhang Xiaoguang and Wang Yaping are other astronauts on the 15-day space mission to eventually build China's space station. The crew will spend almost two weeks at the orbiting Tiangong space lab.

President Xi Jinping said, "You have trained and prepared yourselves carefully and thoroughly, so I am confident in you completing the mission successfully. I wish you success and look forward to your triumphant return".

He wished good luck and success for the triumphant. The mission is the latest step taken by China to have a permanent manned station above earth.

Nie's team will stay a few days longer in order to practice both manual and automatic dockings as a part of the mission. China is expecting to complete its space station by 2020. The space station is likely to have a mass of about 60 tonnes with number of interlocking modules.