Taikonauts Zhang Lu, Wu Fei and Zhang Hongzhang will carry out the Shenzhou-21 crewed spaceflight mission on Friday, the China Manned Space Agency announced at a press conference on Thursday.

The Shenzhou-21 crewed spaceship is scheduled to be launched at 11:44 p.m. BJT on Friday from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China.

Click here for CGTN's livestream of the event.

Zhang Lu, a veteran of the Shenzhou-15 mission, will take the role of mission commander, while Wu Fei and Zhang Hongzhang, both from the third batch of taikonauts, will be making their first spaceflights. Wu, born in 1993, will become the youngest taikonaut to undertake a flight mission.

Zhang Lu will serve as the space pilot, Wu as the flight engineer and Zhang Hongzhang as the payload specialist. They represent the three types of taikonauts currently in service.

At the press conference, Zhang Lu said the crew members belong to three different generations – the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s.

Although the age gap seems large, he said it is actually their biggest strength, as each member brings distinct life experiences and ways of thinking that complement one another and spark creative collaboration.

Zhang Lu described Wu as an energetic teammate who loves sports and brings vitality to the group. "People often joke that with Wu Fei around, even the centrifuge spins more energetically," he said.

As one of the youngest members of the taikonaut team, Wu said he feels incredibly fortunate to be part of a new era of regular crewed missions, which offer younger generations more opportunities to fly and serve the country earlier in their careers.

Zhang Hongzhang, who previously researched new energy and materials at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, enjoys practicing tai chi and reading poetry.

Zhang Lu said he could imagine Zhang Hongzhang turning the space station into a "garden in orbit," doing scientific research while tending plants, reciting poems, and practicing tai chi in space.

Zhang Hongzhang noted that China's crewed space program has entered a new phase of application and development.

"In the space station, we can now conduct experiments that previous generations dreamed of but couldn't achieve, and tackle problems they always wanted to solve but couldn't," he said.

(Cover image: L-R: China's Shenzhou-21 crew members Zhang Hongzhang, Zhang Lu and Wu Fei. /China Manned Space Agency)