June 11,2013 was another big day for Chinese space exploration. Shenzhou X, China's fifth manned spacecraft, was sent into space. Three astronauts, Nie Haisheng, 49, Zhang Xiaoguang, 47, and Wang Yaping, 33, stayed in space for 15 days. Tiangong-1 is China's first space module . It was sent into space in 2011. It will be developed into a large space station around 2020. A space station is a lab for scientific studies.Shenzhou X performed its first docking with Tangong-1 on June 13. It docked twice during the 15 days. The US, Russia, Japan, Canada and Europe are working together on the International Space Station (ISS).China wanted to join the ISS but was refused by the US. China decided to build its own space station. Shenzhou X flew around the Tianggong-1 lab for the first time. This was to make sure that spacecraft could dock from more than just one direction. The astronauts carried out repair work and did experiments on the Tiangong-1. Teaching from space Wang Yaping, China's second woman astronaut, taught high school and primary school students about space science. Wang talked about how things move in a micro-gravity environment. This helped the students better understand some physics ideas, like Newton's Law. The lessons aimed to encourage more students to learn about the universe and science. Life up in space The three astronauts followed a work and rest schedule that is similar on the Earth. They had Chinese dishes, such as Kung Pao Chicken and fried rice. The food was kept in special bags. At the time of the Dragon Boat Festival, they had Zongzi. China decided to build its own space station because   _   .
China was very rich the US refused China to join the ISS Chinese scientists wanted to do experiment in space the astronauts wanted to stay there