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China is all set to launch a space mission on Friday, October 31 by sending a manned flight to the Tiangong Space Station with its youngest astronaut and four laboratory rats.
China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) spokesperson Zhang Jingbo said the Shenzhou-21 mission is scheduled to lift off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China at 11:44 pm local time (9:14 pm IST) on Friday.
The Tiangong space station will be operated by teams of three astronauts, who are exchanged every six months.
The team will be led by veteran space pilot Zhang Lu, who participated in the Shenzhou-15 mission more than two years ago.
Lu will lead payload specialist Zhang Hongzhang and flight engineer Wu Fei on their first space flight. Wu, who just turned 32, is set to become the youngest Chinese astronaut on a space mission, officials said.
The astronauts will also carry with them four laboratory rats, two male and two female, who will be the subject of China’s first in-orbit experiment on rodents, CMSA spokesman Jingbo said.
They will study the effects of weightlessness and confinement on animals.
moon mission 2030
Zhang Jingbo said China aims to send a crewed mission to the Moon by 2030, where it intends to build a base on the lunar surface.
“China’s stated goal of landing a man on the Moon by 2030 remains firm,” CMSA said, and outlined a series of “important upcoming tests,” including testing its Lanyu lunar lander and Mengzhu manned spacecraft.
“At present, each program of research and development work on sending a man to the Moon is progressing smoothly,” he said, citing the Long March 10 rocket, the Moon landing suit and the exploration vehicle as fruitful efforts in that work.
About Tiangong Space Station
The Tiangong Space Station, also known as the “Heavenly Palace”, is the crown jewel of China’s space program.
After being left out of the International Space Station due to US national security concerns over the Chinese space program’s direct ties to the People’s Liberation Army, the country has invested billions of dollars in it in an effort to catch up with the United States and Russia.
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