Name: Chinas Shenzhou 21 mission launches into space
Uploaded: 2025-10-31T18:05:15.472Z
Duration: 4 min 10 s
Description: China has launched the Shenzhou 21 crew into space as the race back to the moon intensifies between the U.S. and China. Lincoln Hines, an associate professor a Georgia Institute of Technology, joins CBS News with more.

China has launched the Shenzhou 21 crew into space as the race back to the moon intensifies between the U.S. and China. Lincoln Hines, an associate professor a Georgia Institute of Technology, joins CBS News with more.

Beijing

China has successfully launched the Shenzhou 21 mission, carrying three astronauts—including the country's youngest astronaut—to the Tiangong space station for a six-month mission. The crew will conduct scientific experiments, such as studying the biology of mice in orbit, as part of China's ongoing efforts to expand its space capabilities.

Experts note that this mission is symbolic of China's rapid progress in space exploration and its status as one of only three countries with a human spaceflight program. With the potential deorbiting of the International Space Station, China's Tiangong could become the only operational space station, underscoring the nation's growing influence in space and its implications for global diplomacy and security.

China's Shenzhou 21 mission launches into space

Our thanks to Scott McFarlane for that report. Any moment now, China will launch its latest manned mission to its space station. It's the latest stage of the growing space race between the U.S. and China. China's three-member crew includes the space program's youngest astronaut, and they'll spend about six months in space. Joining us now is Lincoln Hines, assistant professor at Georgia Tech's Sam Nunn School of International Affairs. Lincoln, thank you so much for joining us on CBS News 24-7. What can you tell us about this mission and China's overall goal when it comes to its space program? Hi, thanks for having me. So this mission, the specifics of the mission is that it's going to be a six-month mission to the Tiangong space station. It's going to carry three Taikonauts, China's equivalent of astronauts. They're going to be doing some experiments, for example, looking at the unique biology of mice in orbit. Now, what's more important, though, is what this is symbolic of. This is one mission of many that China has been carrying out that demonstrates really just how far China's space program has come since its original days. And China's made very marked progress. Most notably, it is one of the only three countries in the world with a human space flight program. And if the United States proceeds with plans to deorbit the International Space Station, China's space station may very well be the only space station in orbit. Wow. Okay, so let's talk about this then. With China making space a top priority, do you think that we could actually see the same kind of rivalry the U.S. once had with the Soviet Union? I think that there's definitely increasing competition between the United States and China in space. But I think it's important that we don't focus too much on the analogy of the Soviet Union during the Cold War. The context has changed incredibly, and in part because we've been operating in space for so long today. It doesn't necessarily carry the same symbolic weight. China also isn't the Soviet Union. It doesn't have the same- And we see it taken off right now, actually, as you're speaking, Lincoln. Please go ahead. I'm just telling our viewers it's happening right now. Yeah. So it's not the same type of ideology that it's trying to spread globally. And perhaps what's more important is that for all of these really high profile accomplishments, for example, China has plans to send taikonauts to the moon and build a lunar base. For all of these accomplishments, perhaps what's most concerning is what's happening at a quieter level, and that's the military competition that China is pursuing with the United States in space. Okay. And Lincoln, I just want to ask you about this because I'm sure there are people watching thinking this is really cool, and it is really cool just watching this happening right now. But then there's a question of what's the importance of this? What am I getting out of this? Why should I care about this? What would you say? Well, first of all, it's symbolic of what is changing about the space domain. Used to we thought of it as this area, especially after the end of the Cold War, where the U.S. had uncontested predominance in this field. But now we're starting to see other countries like China, they're starting to catch up. And while this is a symbolic achievement, it's one of several different accomplishments China has managed to pursue in the space domain. So we need to think about what this means about the type of spinoff technologies that China's developing and what this might mean for China's ability to shape diplomacy and international politics using its space program, or to be able to pursue its security interest. And it's also, I want to add that this is very important for the Chinese Communist Party within China to be able to demonstrate its legitimacy and its competence by demonstrating it as the so-called savior of the Chinese People's Republic of China. And it looks like it is up safely. We will continue to monitor that for our viewers. Lincoln Hines, thank you so much for your expertise. We really appreciate you joining us today on 24-7.

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