Overview
- The Long March 2F lifted off from Jiuquan at 11:44 p.m. local time on October 31 and the spacecraft docked with Tiangong at 19:22 UTC, according to state media.
- Commander Zhang Lu is joined by payload specialist Zhang Hongzhang and flight engineer Wu Fei, 32, described as China’s youngest astronaut to fly.
- The crew plans 27 experiments spanning biotechnology, aerospace medicine and materials science during a roughly six-month stay.
- China sent two male and two female mice for short-duration behavioral studies in microgravity, with monitoring for five to seven days and return on Shenzhou-20.
- Officials reaffirmed the aim to land Chinese astronauts on the Moon by 2030, while progressing a plan with Pakistan to train two candidates and fly one on a short-term payload specialist visit.