Space program celebrates 30 years

In the second half of last year, the Wentian and Mengtian science modules were launched to dock with Tiangong, completing the space station's construction phase.

Orbiting Earth about 400 kilometers above the ground, Tiangong now weighs nearly 100 metric tons and is expected to operate for at least 10 years as a national space-based laboratory.

Scientific platform

The station's first science section, Wentian contains eight scientific cabinets. They are mainly used to serve biological and life science studies, and can also support research on the growth, aging and genetic traits of plants, animals and microbes in the space environment.

The exterior of the module has 22 extravehicular payload adapters capable of carrying out scientific experiments that require exposure to cosmic rays, vacuums and solar winds.