China launches Mengtian research module to finish construction of Tiangong space station

The 23-tonne component is expected to dock with Tiangong’s core module within hours of lift-off before being relocated by robotic arm to finish station
China’s space station is expected to orbit the Earth as a space outpost and laboratory for cutting-edge research for at least a decade

Science

Ling Xinin Beijing

Published: 3:39pm, 31 Oct 2022

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China has launched the last module for its Tiangong space station, which will orbit the Earth as a space outpost and laboratory for cutting-edge research for at least a decade.

At 3.37pm on Monday, the Mengtian experimental module lifted off atop a Long March 5B heavy-lift rocket from Wenchang Satellite Launch Centre on southern China’s Hainan Island.

Deng Hongqin, director of the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre, declared the launch a success around 3.50pm.

The 18 metre-long (59-foot) component weighing 23 tonnes – as much as four adult Asian elephants – is expected to dock with Tiangong’s core module within hours of lift-off. The rendezvous will be overseen by astronauts Chen Dong, Liu Yang and Cai Xuzhe who have been living on board the station since June.

The launch date coincided with the anniversary of the death of Qian Xuesen, known as the father of China’s rocket programme, who died on October 31, 2009.

At more than 380km (236 miles) above the Earth, Mengtian will be relocated later by a robotic arm to give Tiangong its final T-shape and conclude the construction phase.

It took China less than two years to assemble the three-module Tiangong in orbit, starting with the launch of the core module, Tianhe, in April last year.

Compared with Tianhe and the other experimental module, Wentian, which entered orbit in July, Mengtian is equipped with more research facilities and will support a range of physics experiments under microgravity.

For instance, the ultra-cold atoms physics facility aims to use lasers to cool atoms to 10 picokelvins, which is less than a billionth of a degree above absolute zero (−273.15 Celsius) and would be the lowest temperature ever achieved by humanity.

Mengtian is carrying a trio of state-of-the-art atomic clocks, including the world’s first space-based optical atomic clock, which can work together to keep time with ultra-high precision without losing a second over a billion years.

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There will be a total of nine fridge-sized experiment facilities inside Mengtian, according to a video released by the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) on Sunday.

There was also room for astronauts to work out and for storage.

Meanwhile, there are 37 adaptors on the outside of Mengtian to support experiments and study the effects of cosmic radiation on organisms and plants. The module could also help release microsatellites and CubeSats from orbit, the video said.

Like Wentian, Mengtian will use a pair of massive solar arrays which have a total wingspan of 56 metres when unfurled to help power Tiangong.

The Mengtian module is equipped with more research facilities than the Wentian module and will support a range of physics experiments under microgravity. Photo: Handout

So far, CMSA has approved more than 100 experiment proposals from Chinese researchers. At least 25 projects are already under way, including those to study protein crystallisation and the effects of microgravity on plant cells, bone and muscle, according to reporting in Nature magazine last week.

Astronauts have taken some 12,000 seeds, including aubergine and melon seeds, to the space station, exposing them to cosmic radiation and microgravity for six months, before returning them in April to be planted on Earth.

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Tiangong is expected to host more than 1,000 scientific experiments over its lifetime, including international projects jointly organised by CMSA and the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs.

In November, China plans to launch Tianzhou 5 – the fourth cargo mission to Tiangong – to provide supplies for the coming Shenzhou-15 crewed mission.

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Tiangong and the International Space Station (ISS) are the only two space stations in service in low-Earth orbit.

While the ISS is likely to deorbit in the early 2030s, Tiangong can eventually be expanded from three to six modules, according to Chinese space officials.