China has launched a new mission to its Tiangong space station, carrying the country’s youngest astronaut and four laboratory mice. They are the first animals to take part in scientific experiments aboard the Chinese orbital station. Reuters.
The “Longzhe-2F” rocket carrying the “Shenzhou-21”mission“ crew“ launched from the Jiuquan Space Center in the Gobi Desert in northwest China.
The crew includes mission commander and experienced pilot Zhang Lu, 32-year-old flight engineer Wu Fei, China’s youngest astronaut, and 39-year-old scientific equipment specialist Zhang Hongzhang. Before the launch, the astronauts said goodbye to their families and colleagues to the sounds of patriotic music.
The mission also includes four mice – two males and two females – who will be part of China’s first rodent experiment in space. “Shenzhou-21” is expected to dock with the “Tiangong” approximately three and a half hours after launch.
During the flight, the crew will perform a number of scientific studies, perform spacewalks, and install protective screens against space debris on the outer shell of the station. Educational broadcasts for schoolchildren and students are also planned to popularize science.
China has not participated in the International Space Station (ISS) program since 2011, after the United States banned NASA from cooperating with Beijing. Since then, the country has been developing its own orbital station “Tiangong” and attracting partners – in particular, in February China signed an agreement with Pakistan to train the first foreign “taikonauts”.
