The next Chinese space-craft, Shenzou VIII and Shenzou IX, will be unmanned – to start with – but the next manned mission, Shenzou X, will dock with one (or more) and form an orbital laboratory complex. In otherwords a Space Station. Attach a couple of propulsion modules and the Lab could be launched Moonwards, forming a Moon-Lab, just like the proposed “Wet-Lab” Skylab II that was discussed in the late 1960s as a cheaper Moon-Lab option.
Chinese News Coverage on the Plan
