BEIJING -- A research team from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) revealed the names of the four mice, which were part of a recent mission aboard China's space station, during a public science event on Saturday.

The mice have been named Wangtian, Lanyue, Zhuiyun, and Zhumeng, which respectively translate to "gaze at the sky", "reach for the moon", "chase the clouds" and "follow the dream". The announcement was accompanied by the release of cartoon illustrations of the mice, co-created with Xinhua News Agency.

On Oct 31, the four mice -- numbered 6, 98, 154 and 186 -- were chosen from 48 candidates and flown aboard the Shenzhou XXI crewed spacecraft to their temporary habitat in space. During the mission, Xinhua invited the public to propose names for the mice, with the final selections based on popular submissions online.

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The mice safely returned to Earth with the Shenzhou-20 crew on Nov 14.

"We have initiated a series of studies on the mice following their return," said Li Tianda, an expert at the Institute of Zoology (IOZ) of the CAS. "These studies aim to uncover how the space environment affects mammalian physiology and behavior, particularly in terms of stress response and adaptation."

The public science event themed "flying mice" will run for one month at the National Zoological Museum of China, offering the public a firsthand look at cutting-edge biological experiments conducted as part of China's major space programs.

The event is jointly organized by the Technology and Engineering Center for Space Utilization and the IOZ under the CAS.

Mouse births pups after space mission

Of the four mice involved in a recent mission aboard China's space station, one female has now successfully birthed healthy offspring on Earth, the Technology and Engineering Center for Space Utilization (CSU) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) has announced.

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The four mice were sent into space aboard the Shenzhou XXI crewed spaceship on Oct 31, and were housed in a specialized habitat on the space station before returning to Earth on Nov 14.

After their return, one female conceived and later delivered nine pups on Dec 10. Six of the newborns have survived -- a rate considered normal. Researchers have noted that the mother is nursing normally and the pups appear active and healthy.

"This mission showed that short-term space travel did not impair the reproductive capability of the mouse," said Wang Hongmei, a researcher at the Institute of Zoology of the CAS. "It also provides invaluable samples for the investigation of how the space environment influences early developmental stages in mammals."

The CSU noted that the mission faced unexpected difficulties after a change in the return schedule of the Shenzhou-20 mission, which was scheduled to carry the mice back to Earth, leading to a food shortage toward the end of the subjects' time in orbit. Ground teams quickly developed countermeasures.

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With support from astronauts on the space station, water was supplied to the mice via a dedicated port in their habitat area. Resolving the food shortage presented greater challenges. As the specialized mouse feed could not be replenished in time, scientists evaluated various items from the astronauts' food supplies. Following ground-based tests, soybean milk was chosen as a suitable temporary substitute.

According to the CSU, throughout the period, an AI-powered monitoring system tracked the behavior of the mice, including movement, feeding and sleep patterns, providing critical data to support real-time decision-making.

The CSU stated that this achievement signifies China's first full-cycle realization of a mammalian space experiment, covering pre-launch preparations, in-orbit operations aboard the Chinese space station, and sample recovery.

This milestone lays a solid foundation for larger-scale mammalian space science experiments in the future, the CSU added.

Scientists will continue to study the postnatal development of the mouse pups, monitoring their growth and physiological changes. Further research may also examine whether these offspring can reproduce normally, helping reveal potential multigenerational effects of space exposure on mammals.