Douglas Maher - All Headline News Staff Reporter

During the October launch of the Shenzhou VI spacecraft, an estimated 40 grams of pig sperm will be taken on board; some kept outside of the spacecraft's biological capsule and some inside, according to Chinese state media.

Surviving sperm will be returned to Earth and used to understand better the processes involved in pig reproduction.

China's first manned spaceflight two years ago made it the third country able to launch a human into space on its own, along with Russia and the United States.