China on April 24, 2025 sent three astronauts to its permanent space station Tiangong to replace the crew stationed there since last October.
In order to achieve what President Xi Jinping describes as the Chinese people's "space dream", Beijing has invested billions of dollars into its space program in recent years.
Leading the Shenzhou-20 crew is Chen Dong, who has already completed two missions before and is flying to space for a third time. He will be accompanied by former air force pilot Chen Zhongrui and engineer Wang Jie, both first timers in space.
Besides space walks and general maintenance on the space station, the crew wants to install protective equipment against space debris, an increasing threat for space activities. Also, experiments in both physics and medical sciences are planned.
For the first time, they will bring planarians aboard, a kind of aquatic flatworms with great regenerative abilities.
"The results [of examining the planarians in space] could help address problems related to injuries sustained in space environments", said Lin Xiqiang, deputy director of China's national space agency (CMSA).
When cut in half, both segments of the worm can regrow complete heads and tails within just seven to 10 days. Even when sliced into numerous pieces, each fragment can regenerate into a fully functional individual.
Studying these creatures could provide critical insights into human cell regeneration, aging resistance, and longevity, said Zhen Hui, a researcher at the School of Life Sciences and Medicine at Shandong University of Technology, which are responsible for the planarian study.
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