BEIJING – China successfully launched its youngest astronaut, 32-year-old Wu Fei, along with two crewmates and four lab mice to the Tiangong space station, marking another major milestone in the nation’s growing space program.
The Shenzhou-21 spacecraft lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northwest China aboard a Long March-2F rocket and docked with the Tiangong space station just three and a half hours later. The mission began at 3:22 a.m. (1922 GMT Friday), according to state media.
The three-member crew — commander Zhang Lu, flight engineer Wu Fei, and payload specialist Zhang Hongzhang — will remain in orbit for six months, conducting scientific experiments, technology tests, and maintenance tasks aboard Tiangong.
Wu Fei, the youngest Chinese astronaut ever to go to space, expressed pride in representing his country. “I feel incomparably lucky and honored,” he said before the launch. Mission commander Zhang Lu added that the crew was determined to “return with complete success.”
In addition to the astronauts, four lab mice — two male and two female — are part of the mission. These rodents will be used for China’s first in-orbit biological experiments to study how microgravity affects life systems. Scientists believe the findings could support future long-term human space missions.
The Tiangong space station is a central part of China’s multi-billion-dollar space ambitions under President Xi Jinping’s vision of achieving the “space dream.” The station currently hosts rotating astronaut crews every six months.
China’s long-term goals include sending astronauts to the Moon by 2030 and eventually building a permanent lunar base. The country has already achieved several major milestones, including landing the Chang’e-4 probe on the Moon’s far side in 2019 and deploying a Mars rover in 2021.
The China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) said the current mission will test lunar program technologies, perform spacewalks, and install anti-debris shields on the station’s exterior. The crew will also participate in educational outreach activities to inspire future scientists and engineers.
In other news read more about China to Send First Pakistani Astronaut Into Space; Historic Mission Announced
Although China remains excluded from the International Space Station due to U.S. policy restrictions, it continues to build global partnerships. Earlier this year, Beijing signed an agreement with Pakistan to recruit the first foreign astronauts, further expanding cooperation in its space endeavors.
