Tiangong Space Station

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About Tiangong Space Station-

• Hours after they were launched into the designated orbit by the Shenzhou-14 spacecraft, which later docked with the orbiting module of the space station called Tianhe and cargo crafts attached to it, the three astronauts successfully entered for a six-month stay.
• The trio will cooperate with the ground team to complete the assembly and construction of the Tiangong space station, developing it from a single-module structure into a national space laboratory with three modules–

1. 1. The core module.
   2. Tianhe.
   3. Two lab modules – Wentian and Mengtian.

• Tiangong is a space station being constructed by China in low Earth orbit between 340 and 450 km  above the surface. 
• Being China’s first long-term space station, it is the goal of the “Third Step” of the China Manned Space Program.
• It will have a mass between 80 and 100 t, roughly one-fifth the mass of the International Space Station and about the size of the decommissioned Russian Mir space station.
• The construction of the station is based on the experience gained from its precursors, Tiangong-1 and Tiangong-2. 
• The first module, the Tianhe (“Harmony of the Heavens”) core module, was launched on 29 April 2021, followed by multiple crewed and uncrewed missions and two more modules to be launched in 2022.
• Once Tiangong is complete, China will be the only country to operate a space station of its own, adding to other accomplishments such as landing on Mars in 2021 and on the far side of the moon in 2019.
• The China Space Station (CSS) may become the sole space station to remain in orbit once the aging ISS retires in the coming years.
• The significant feature of China’s under-construction space station is its two robotic arms, especially the long one over which the US has previously expressed concern over its ability to grab objects including satellites from space.
• The core module is mounted with a big mechanical arm, and the Wentian lab module with a small one.
• During the Shenzhou-14 mission, the crew will, for the first time, be aided by the small mechanical arm to get out of the space station.
• The space station is designed to be a versatile space lab, capable of accommodating 25 experiment cabinets for scientific exploration.
• The experiment cabinets can support experiments on life and ecology and biotechnology. 
• Astronauts can conduct experiments on molecules, cells, tissues, and organs in Wentian by using diverse online detection methods, such as visible light, fluorescence, or microscopic imaging.
• During their stay in orbit, the Shenzhou-14 crew will witness the two lab modules, Tianzhou-5 cargo craft and Shenzhou-15 crewed spaceship dock with the core module Tianhe.

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