Chinese rocket with manned crew to blast off Thursday

The Shenzhou-12 manned spaceship with its Long March-2F Y2 carrier rocket will launch China's first three crew members to its new space station Thursday morning. — Xinhua via AP

Astronauts blasting off on Thursday for China's first manned mission to its new space station will have a choice of 120 different types of food and "space treadmills" for entertainment during their stay, China's space agency said.

The mission will be China's longest crewed space mission to date and the first in nearly five years, as Beijing pushes forward with its ambitious programme to establish itself as a space power.