China's New Space Team: A Mix of Firsts and Familiar Faces

China just sent a new crew to its space station, Tiangong. This mission, called Shenzhou-21, is pretty special. It's carrying three astronauts, or taikonauts as China calls them, and something even more unusual: four live mice. This is the first time China has sent mammals to space. The crew includes Zhang Lu, who's been to space before, and two newbies, Wu Fei and Zhang Hongzhang. Wu is the youngest taikonaut ever, born in 1993. They're going to replace the current crew who've been up there for six months. The new crew's job is to do science experiments. They've got 27 projects to work on, covering all sorts of things like space medicine and how things burn in space. Those four mice aren't just along for the ride. The taikonauts are going to study how space affects them. It's all about seeing how microgravity and being cooped up in a small space changes their behavior. China's sent fish up before, but this is the first time with mammals. China's been really focused on space lately. They started their own space station after being left out of the International Space Station project. Now, they're planning to send a Pakistani astronaut up there too. They're also aiming to put a person on the moon by 2030. Last year, they even landed a probe on the far side of the moon and brought back samples. The launch was a big deal. People gathered around to watch, including a dad hoping to inspire his 7-year-old son with the "space dream. " It's clear that China is serious about its space program and wants to be a major player in space exploration.