November 1, 2025

On October 31, 2025, a powerful Long March 2F rocket roared to life at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northwest China. Onboard was the Shenzhou-21 spacecraft carrying three astronauts: commander Zhang Lu (48), and two first-timers Zhang Hongzhang (39) and Wu Fei (32) — China’s youngest astronaut ever sent to space! This thrilling launch marked the seventh mission to China’s permanent space home, the Tiangong, or “Heavenly Palace,” which was completed in 2022. The new crew will replace the outgoing Shenzhou-20 team, who have been working hard in orbit for over six months. What makes this mission extra special is the presence of four tiny passengers — black mice! These little explorers are the first small mammals China has sent to Tiangong, ready for experiments on reproduction in low Earth orbit. Talk about small but mighty space travelers! China’s space program is speeding ahead with biannual launches now usual. Since 2022, they've celebrated incredible milestones: sending astronauts born in the 1990s, breaking world records with spacewalks, and preparing to welcome their first foreign astronaut, from Pakistan, in Tiangong next year. This fast pace has stirred competition with the United States, which is eager to get American astronauts back on the moon before China does. Both nations are also building their own space partnerships — the U.S. leads the Artemis Accords for lunar missions, while China teams up with Russia on the International Lunar Research Station. The race for space is hotter than ever, and China’s Shenzhou-21 launch just added more fuel to this fiery adventure!

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Tags: Shenzhou-21, Chinese Space Station, Long March 2F, China Astronauts, Space Experiments, International Space Race,