China's military-backed space program will send scientists on future manned missions as its demand for technical expertise rises, AP quoted state media as reporting. Plans call for the program to begin setting up space laboratories after 2012, the official Xinhua News Agency reported Thursday. Scientists picked for the job could include those from the former British and Portuguese colonies of Hong Kong and Macau that reverted to Chinese control in the late 1990s, Xinhua said. China's space program is staffed mainly by military officers. The six astronauts that have traveled aboard China's three manned missions have all been air force pilots. Three more manned missions are planned before 2012 to prepare for the rendezvous and docking tasks required for constructing a space station.
