China sends youngest astronaut, mice to space station

October 31, 2025 / 11:30 PM

Sharjah24 - AFP: China successfully launched the Shenzhou-21 mission from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China, carrying three astronauts and four laboratory mice to the Tiangong Space Station. The Long March-2F rocket lifted off at (15: 44 GMT), marking another milestone in China’s rapidly advancing space programme.

China’s youngest astronaut joins the mission

The crew includes mission commander Zhang Lu, flight engineer Wu Fei—China’s youngest astronaut at 32—and payload specialist Zhang Hongzhang, 39. Before liftoff, the team bid farewell to family and colleagues in a patriotic ceremony. Wu Fei, on his first space mission, expressed feeling “incomparably lucky.” Four mice also joined the crew, becoming the first subjects in China’s in-orbit rodent experiments.

Expanding China’s space ambitions

The Shenzhou-21 spacecraft is expected to dock with Tiangong about three and a half hours after launch. The astronauts will conduct spacewalks, install anti-debris shields, and engage in scientific outreach activities to inspire future generations.

China’s space programme—third in the world to send humans into orbit after the United States and the former Soviet Union—has grown rapidly under President Xi Jinping’s “space dream.” It achieved landmark missions such as landing the Chang’e-4 probe on the Moon’s far side in 2019 and deploying a Mars rover in 2021.

Eyes on the moon and beyond

The China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) announced upcoming critical tests in preparation for its 2030 lunar mission, which aims to send astronauts to the Moon and eventually build a base on its surface. Excluded from the International Space Station since 2011, China has instead expanded its own partnerships, including a recent agreement with Pakistan to train the first foreign “taikonauts.”