The Shenzhou-21 spacecraft will conduct the first rodent mammal space science experiment in orbit.

The press conference for the manned flight mission of Shenzhou-21 was held at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. The spokesperson introduced that according to the plan, the astronauts of Shenzhou-21 will conduct 27 new scientific and application projects during their time in orbit, focusing on key scientific issues in various fields such as space life sciences and biotechnology, aerospace medicine, space materials science, microgravity fluid physics and combustion, and aerospace new technologies. Among them, the first domestic experiment on space science of rodents will be conducted in orbit, using two males and two females, a total of 4 mice, who will be carried on the spacecraft and reared in orbit, focusing on studying the influence of weightlessness and confinement on the behavioral patterns of mice. After returning to Earth with the spacecraft, further scientific research will be conducted to explore the stress response and adaptive changes of multiple organs of mice in a space environment. In orbit, a project on the relationship between the origin of genetic code and chirality in the space environment will also be carried out, exploring the selective rules between different chiral combinations of amino acids and nucleotides, and discussing the influence of molecular chirality and gravity environment on the origin of biological molecules of the same chirality. In addition, Shenzhou-21 also carried out missions such as the electrochemical optical in-situ study of lithium-ion batteries for space applications and the on-orbit intelligent computing platform experiment of the space station, providing a basis for future scientific research and further laying a foundation for on-orbit applications.