The crew for China’s next manned flight to the Tiangong space station will include the country’s youngest ever astronaut to undertake a space mission, authorities said Thursday, as well as four lab mice.

The Shenzhou-21 mission is set to blast off at 11:44 pm on Friday (1544 GMT) from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China, said China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) spokesperson Zhang Jingbo.

The Tiangong space station — crewed by teams of three astronauts that are exchanged every six months — is the crown jewel of China’s space programme, into which billions of dollars have been poured in a bid to catch up with the United States and Russia.

This crew will be led by veteran space pilot Zhang Lu, who took part in the Shenzhou-15 mission more than two years ago.

He will lead p

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