Four lab mice and the youngest astronaut in China’s history will be on board the nation’s next manned journey to the Tiangong space station, officials announced Thursday.
According to Zhang Jingbo, a spokesman for the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA), the Shenzhou-21 mission is scheduled to launch from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China at 11:44 p.m. on Friday (1544 GMT).
The centerpiece of China’s space program, which has received billions of dollars in an attempt to catch up to the US and Russia, is the Tiangong space station, which is manned by three-person crews that are switched every six months.
This crew will be led by veteran space pilot Zhang Lu, who took part in the Shenzhou-15 mission more than two years ago.
He will lead payload specialist Zhang Hongzhang and flight engineer Wu Fei on their first space flight.
Wu, who has just turned 32, is set to become the youngest Chinese astronaut to undertake a space mission to date, authorities said.
Four mice, two male and two female, are also traveling with the group. According to CMSA spokesperson Zhang, these mice will be the focus of China’s first rodent experiments conducted in orbit.
Robotic rovers have also been placed on Mars and the Moon by Beijing’s space program, which is the third to launch humans into orbit.
Under President Xi Jinping, China’s ambitions to realize its “space dream” have intensified.
Beijing claims that by 2030, it hopes to send a crewed trip to the Moon, where it plans to build a base.
The CMSA said on Thursday it was “holding firm” to that goal and outlined a series of “crucial upcoming tests” it was undertaking in preparation, including testing its Lanyue lunar lander and Mengzhou manned spacecraft.
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