Shenzhou XVII mission to begin soon

China's next manned space mission, the Shenzhou XVII, is scheduled to be launched in the coming days to transport three astronauts to the Tiangong space station, the China Manned Space Agency said on Thursday.

According to the agency, the Shenzhou XVII spacecraft and its carrier, a Long March 2F rocket, were moved on Thursday morning to the service tower at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China's Gobi Desert.

The final functions checks and all-systems rehearsal will take place in due course according to the mission schedule, it noted.