China has named Zhang Lu, Wu Fei and Zhang Hongzhang as the crew for the Shenzhou 21 mission to the Tiangong space station, set to launch Friday, Oct. 31 at 11:44 a.m. EDT on a Long March 2F from Jiuquan. Commander Zhang Lu, 48, previously flew on Shenzhou 15. Zhang Hongzhang, 39, and Wu, 32—the youngest in China’s astronaut corps—will make their first spaceflights. The trio plans about six months aboard Tiangong, conducting experiments, spacewalks, outreach and cargo operations. For the first time, four black mice will also fly to the station for reproduction studies in low Earth orbit.

Reviewed by JQJO team

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