By Saadet Gokce
ISTANBUL (AA) - The China Manned Space Agency said Thursday that the Shenzhou-21 crewed spaceship is scheduled to be launched Friday with three astronauts onboard, adding that one Pakistani astronaut will be separately sent on a short-duration spaceflight mission as a payload specialist.
Shenzhou-21 will be launched at 11.44 pm Friday Beijing Time (1544GMT) from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China, according to the state-run news agency Xinhua.
Taikonauts Zhang Lu, Wu Fei, and Zhang Hongzhang will carry out the mission that includes China’s first scientific experiments involving rodent mammals in space.
The crew will conduct the in-orbit scientific experiments involving mice during their stay on China's space station to study the effects of space conditions, such as microgravity and enclosed space, on the behavior of these animals.
While in orbit, the Shenzhou-21 crew will carry out 27 new scientific and applied research projects.
For the short mission, two Pakistani astronauts will undergo training, one of whom will be selected and sent to space at a later date.