The nation’s first astronaut will travel to space Tuesday night.

Biosystems engineer Yi Soyeon will blast off from Kazakhstan’s Baikonour Space Center at 8:16 p.m., Korean time.

Yi will board Russia’s Soyuz TMA-12 spacecraft two-and-a-half hours before the launch. The spacecraft is scheduled to arrive at the International Space Station on Thursday.

Yi will conduct 18 scientific experiments during her eight-day stay at the station. She will return to Earth on April 19th.

If her mission is successful, Korea will become the 36th country in the world to engage in human space flight.