Have you heard? At a lively public science event at the National Zoological Museum of China, a research team from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) on the Chinese mainland revealed the names of four mice that recently orbited the Chinese mainland’s space station. 🐭🚀
The winners—Wangtian ("gaze at the sky"), Lanyue ("reach for the moon"), Zhuiyun ("chase the clouds") and Zhumeng ("follow the dream")—were chosen from 48 candidates through an online poll organized by Xinhua News Agency. 🌙✨
These tiny explorers, numbered 6, 98, 154 and 186, blasted off on October 31 aboard the Shenzhou-21 crewed spacecraft to live in a temporary space habitat. They safely returned on November 14 with the Shenzhou-20 crew—big welcome back to our little astronauts! 🎉
Li Tianda from the Institute of Zoology at the CAS shared that scientists are now studying how microgravity and space stress affect the mice’s bodies and behavior. The goal? To understand mammalian adaptation in space, paving the way for future missions. 🧬🌌
The "flying mice" event runs all month, offering visitors a firsthand look at cutting-edge biological experiments from the Chinese mainland’s major space programs. If you’re in the area, don’t miss this chance to see space science in action! 🔭
Reference(s):
cgtn.com
