Wentian laboratory: Chinese astronauts set up new lab on space station

China on Monday (July 25) added a laboratory to its permanent orbiting space station as the country is working towards completing the structure, which is expected to be done by the end of the year. The China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) informed on Monday that a second laboratory module to its under-construction space station was docked successfully.

With an aim at expanding space ambitions, China launched the Wentian module atop a Long March 5B rocket from Hainan Island at 2:22pm (local time) on Sunday. Shortly after the launch, CCTV reported that the launch was "a complete success".

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China has landed robotic rovers on Mars and the Moon, and the space station is deemed as one of the crown jewels of the nation's ambitious space programme.

Tiangong space station was launched last year in April and the Wentian module is the second of the three modules required to complete it.

Footage from state broadcaster CCTV showed that a few hours after docking, the three astronauts opened the hatch and entered Wentian. Those three astronauts have been living in the core module since June. China is only the third nation to put humans in orbit.

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As mentioned by the official news agency Xinhua, Wentian will focus on life sciences and biotechnology research, including cell research and growth experiments on plants, fruit flies and zebrafish.

The state media also said that the module will have living space for three additional astronauts. It will be housing up to six people during crew transitions.

Another lab named Mengtian, which is the third and final module, is scheduled for launch in October. Once finalised, Tiangong is expected to remain in low orbit 400-450 kilometres above Earth for at least 10 years.

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