Two Chinese astronauts aboard the Shenzhou 11 spacecraft have successfully docked into China's second space station in lower Earth orbit.

According to Chinese state media, the two "taikonauts" have entered the Tiangong 2 (Heavenly Palace) space laboratory after being launched from China's Gobi Desert aboard a Long March booster rocket on Monday, October 17.

Like Us on Facebook

Four hours after blasting off from Earth, the two astronauts enjoyed their first lunch that included eight different types of food - flatfish, spicy tofu, chicken sausages, canned apples, and grain crackers with lemon tea to wash it all down.

According to Cao Ping, a nutrition researcher at the Astronaut Center of China, during their 33 days in space, the astronauts will change their menu every five days. The astronauts will have six different types of meals taken three times a day, ranging from instant food to staple and non-staple food, beverages, functional food, and more. Their meal times will be synchronized with that of people on Earth.

 After the Unites States and Russia, China is the third nation to successful launch a manned mission to lower Earth orbit. This is also the longest manned space mission to China at 33 days.

The nation's last manned mission was in 2013, where three Chinese astronauts spent 15 days in orbit after docking at China's first space laboratory, Tiangong 1.

The astronauts will carry out several experiments aboard the space lab.