Chinese astronauts have entered a new lab that arrived at the country’s orbiting space station this week.
The Wentian Laboratory module launched aboard a Long March 5B-Y3 rocket from a Chinese space center on the southern island of Hainan on Sunday, state media reported. The flight lasted 13 hours.
The module is the second of three that will complete the country’s Tiangong space station. The latest module, called the Mengtian, is due to launch in October. Chinese officials have said they expect the space station to be fully operational by the end of this year.
Three Chinese astronauts who began a six-month stay on the space station in June oversaw the arrival of the Wentian lab and its connection to the main module.
Orbital laboratories are designed to allow astronauts to perform scientific and biological experiments and test new technologies. Among the first planned research will be cell and growth experiments involving plants, fruit flies and zebrafish, the official Xinhua news agency reported.
Astronauts currently visiting the space station live in the main module of Tianhe. When fully completed, the station is designed to accommodate up to six astronauts at a time.
Current astronauts aboard the space station include Commander Chen Dong and team members Liu Yang and Cai Xuzhe. The group is expected to return to Earth in December after the arrival of a new crew.
Hours after the module’s arrival, state broadcaster CCTV showed video of the astronauts floating inside the new lab. CCTV described the launch and link operation as “a complete success”.
The Chinese state enterprise world times The newspaper reported that the 23-ton Wentian Laboratory is heavier than any other single-module spacecraft currently in space. The module will serve as the main entrance and go out benchmark for future spacecraft activities.
Tiangong’s completed structure will be about one-fifth the size of the International Space Station (ISS), Reuters news agency reported.
The space station project marks the latest advancement in China’s space program.
About a year ago, China successfully landed a spacecraft on Mars. The Tianwen-1 spacecraft carried a robotic explorer, called Zhurong. The explorer, or rover, is expected to measure atmospheric conditions and magnetic forces as it searches for signs of ancient life on Mars.
China’s space program is run by the military wing of the ruling Communist Party, the People’s Liberation Army. China has largely completed its Tiangong program without help from other nations. The United States has not allowed China to cooperate with the International Space Station because of the Chinese space program’s military ties.
China launched its first astronaut into orbit in 2003, making it the third country to do so alone after the former Soviet Union and the United States. China has also returned to the moon samples on Earth and officials discussed a possible crewed mission to the Moon.
Next year, China plans to launch a new large space telescope. The telescope should be positioned in the same orbit as Tiangong, allowing the station to link up with it for resupply and repairs should the need arise.
I am Brian Lynn.
The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse reported this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the reports for VOA Learning English.
Quiz – Chinese astronauts set up a new laboratory for the space station
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words in this story
module – nm part of an object that can function on its own, especially part of a spacecraft
go out -not. a way out or a starting point
to taste – nm a small amount of something that gives you information about the thing it was taken from
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