China’s Shenzhou-21 spacecraft took off on Friday from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northwest China.
The Long March-2F rocket carried three astronauts to the Tiangong space station, which means “Heavenly Palace.”
Commander Zhang Lu is 48 years old. First-time flyers Zhang Hongzhang, 39, and Wu Fei, 32, joined him. Wu is now China’s youngest astronaut in orbit.
The crew will stay in space for about six months, replacing the Shenzhou-20 team, who will soon return to Earth.
Four black mice are also on the mission. They are the first small mammals to travel to the Chinese space station.
Scientists will study how the mice reproduce and grow in low Earth orbit.
China now launches new Shenzhou crews twice a year and plans to train the first foreign astronaut from Pakistan.
The United States also wants to move fast. It hopes to put astronauts on the Moon again before China does.
Both countries are building groups of partner nations for future Moon missions. The U.S. leads the Artemis Accords, while China and Russia back the International Lunar Research Station.