A crew of three Chinese astronauts — including the nation’s youngest ever — successfully docked with the Tiangong space station early Saturday, November 1, joined by an unexpected group of passengers: four lab mice.
According to Xinhua News Agency, the Shenzhou-21 spacecraft docked with Tiangong at 3:35 a.m. Saturday (1935 GMT Friday, October 31), nearly four hours after launching from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center aboard a Long March-2F rocket.
The Tiangong space station, home to rotating crews every six months, stands as a major symbol of China’s growing ambitions in space exploration, as Beijing continues to invest billions in its bid to compete with the U.S. and Russia.
China plans to send astronauts to the Moon before 2030 and eventually build a lunar base — a goal President Xi Jinping has described as part of the country’s “space dream.”
The Shenzhou-21 crew includes mission commander Zhang Lu, flight engineer Wu Fei, aged 32 and China’s youngest astronaut to date, and payload specialist Zhang Hongzhang. Before launch, the trio waved goodbye to their families and promised to “report back with complete success.”
Aboard the spacecraft were also four mice — two male and two female — part of China’s first biological experiment in orbit involving mammals. Scientists hope the study will help understand how space environments affect living organisms.
China’s space programme has made major strides in recent years, achieving milestones such as landing the Chang’e-4 probe on the Moon’s far side in 2019 and deploying a Mars rover in 2021.
The astronauts will conduct spacewalks, install anti-debris shields on Tiangong’s exterior, and participate in educational outreach to inspire young people.
Barred from the International Space Station since 2011, China has focused on building its own partnerships, recently signing an agreement with Pakistan to recruit the first foreign “taikonauts,” signalling Beijing’s growing influence in global space exploration.
