( CNN ) -- China 's historic spacecraft docking mission this month will involve a female astronaut , state-run Xinhua reported . Either Liu Yang or Wang Yaping -- selected among China 's first batch of women astronauts -- will be among the three-person crew to launch aboard the Shenzhou-9 , according to Xinhua . If all goes well with the launch , which is planned for mid-June , the Shenzhou-9 will dock with China 's orbiting space laboratory , making the nation the third after the United States and Russia to complete a manned space docking . As a precaution in case of an emergency , one of the crewmembers will not board the lab , a spokesperson for the space program said in February . China has big aspirations for its space program with hopes to build a space station like the International Space Station and to conduct a manned mission to the moon . China rockets forward in race to moon . On Saturday the Shenzhou-9 and its carrier rocket , the Long March-2F , were moved to a launch platform in northwest China 's Gansu province to allow scientists to conduct tests before the launch , according to Xinhua . The Tiangong-1 space lab module was launched into space in September , and two months later it successfully completed China 's first space docking with an unmanned spacecraft , Shenzhou-8 , according to Xinhua . The efforts demonstrate `` China 's continued commitment to becoming a first-class space power with an independent space capability , '' Taylor Fravel , associate professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology , said this year . `` This is a very exclusive club . '' On Thursday in Beijing , the China National Space Administration and the Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission signed a space cooperation plan through 2020 , state-run China Daily reported . The agreement was signed , while Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari was visiting for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit . China 's efforts come as the United States refocuses its space program toward deep space exploration , and private companies like SpaceX make strides toward the commercialization of spaceflight . Last month SpaceX 's unmanned Dragon capsule completed the first ever commercial mission to the International Space Station . CNN 's Jaime FlorCruz contributed to this report .
Xinhua wants female astronauts who could be on crew . Launch is planned for mid - June . China aims to complete manned space docking , with Russia , United States . China aspires to a space station , and a mission to the moon .