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China’s space station prepares for new frontiers of science with launch of Mengtian module

  • Once docked with Tiangong station, module will house experiments in combustion, heat transfer and fluid physics under microgravity
  • Ultracold atoms physics cabin aims to use lasers to cool atoms to lowest temperature ever achieved by humans

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China is expected to launch the Mengtian module on October 31 and complete the first stage construction of its Tiangong space station. Photo: Xinhua
Ling Xinin Beijing
China plans to launch the Mengtian space module containing cutting-edge equipment this month to complete the first stage of construction of its space station.
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Mengtian is an 18-metre (59ft) long, 22-tonne module designed mainly for scientific experiments. It is the third and final major component of the Tiangong space station. The module is expected to lift off on October 31, although an official launch date is yet to be announced.

Mengtian has been filled with propellant and is going through final tests at the coastal Wenchang spaceport in southern China. After lifting off on a Long March 5B rocket, it is expected to rendezvous and dock with Tiangong’s two orbiting modules – the Tianhe core module and the Wentian experiment module – to complete the T-shaped space station in low earth orbit.

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China grows rice, other plants in space as part of Tiangong station experiment

China grows rice, other plants in space as part of Tiangong station experiment

Mengtian will carry a number of world-leading physics facilities into orbit, including one that can create the coldest matter in the universe.

The ultracold atoms physics cabin, which will be among the eight fridge-sized research cabins on board, aims to use lasers to cool atoms to 10 picokelvins. That is 100-billionth of a degree above absolute zero (−273.15 Celsius) – the lowest temperature ever achieved by humans – said the cabin’s chief scientist Liu Liang, of the Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

If successful, it will surpass Nasa’s cold atom lab, a similar experiment on the International Space Station (ISS), about tenfold, according to a presentation by Liu at the National Space Science Assembly in Taiyuan in August.

A diagram of the ultracold atoms physics cabin. Photo: Handout
A diagram of the ultracold atoms physics cabin. Photo: Handout

Ultracold atoms have wide applications, from quantum computing to the world’s most accurate clocks. They are also an ideal tool for studying fundamental physics. For instance, they allow scientists to observe a fifth state of matter called Bose-Einstein condensate.

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