China discloses new space mission tasks, highlighting mice experiment

　　JIUQUAN, Oct. 30 (Xinhua) -- The Shenzhou-21 crew will bring 4 mice to the country's space station for scientific study, a highlight among a variety of new science and application projects to be carried out during their six-month stay in orbit, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) said on Thursday.

　　This will be the first time China conducts a scientific experiment involving rodent mammals in space, CMSA spokesperson Zhang Jingbo said at a press conference held one day prior to the launch of the Shenzhou-21 mission.

　　The mice, two males and two females, will be raised in orbit, and the study will focus on examining the effects of space conditions, such as microgravity and enclosed space, on the behavior of these animals, Zhang said.

　　Subsequently, the mice will return to Earth via a spaceship, and further scientific research will be carried out to explore the stress response and adaptive changes of multiple tissues and organs of mice in the space environment, Zhang added.

　　The four mice were chosen after more than 60 days of rigorous training in physical fitness and cognitive ability. They will be part of scientific experiments in space for five to seven days, helping to close a gap in small mammal research aboard China's Tiangong space station.

　　Previous animal experiments conducted on the Chinese space lab involved zebra fish and fruit flies.

　　The Shenzhou-21 crewed spaceship is scheduled to be launched at 11:44 p.m. Friday (Beijing Time) from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China. Taikonauts Zhang Lu, Wu Fei and Zhang Hongzhang will carry out the Shenzhou-21 mission.

　　The 27 new in-orbit experiments awaiting the trio cover areas including space life sciences and biotechnology, space medicine, space materials science, microgravity fluid physics and combustion, and new space technologies.

　　The CMSA also outlined planned in-orbit studies on the relationship between the origin of genetic codes and chirality, lithium-ion batteries for space applications, and intelligent computing platforms.

　　Notably, crew member Zhang Hongzhang, a payload specialist, is a researcher in the field of new energy and new materials at the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics under the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

　　During the Shenzhou-21 mission, his ideas from the ground are expected to bear fruit in the orbital lab, as the experiments he designed will be conducted on the space station.

　　He will be responsible for conducting experimental procedures, performing observations, acquiring data, and carrying out data processing and analysis.

　　"I feel truly honored that the experiment project I have contributed to will be conducted in space," the scientist-turned-taikonaut told media. ■