Leonard David's INSIDE OUTER SPACE

China’s space station to be completed by end of 2022.
Credit: CCTV/Inside Outer Space screengrab

China’s space station is a work-in-progress, with two new modules — Wentian and Mengtian — being readied for launch this year to the low Earth orbit construction site.

According to the Technology and Engineering Center for Space Utilization (CSU) under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, a set of multidisciplinary “frontier scientific experiments” are to be performed on the Tiangong space station.

Next up station modules.
Credit: CNSA

The Xinhua news agency reports that the experiments include raising fish, growing vegetables, setting up the most precise clocks in space, developing new materials, studying physical laws and exploring how humans can survive in space for long periods.

Experiment racks

Testing work on the experiment racks has begun, already installed in the Tianhe core module, which was launched last year. These will be used for container-free material science and high microgravity experiments, said Zhang Wei, director of the Utilization Development Center of CSU.

Credit: CCTV/Inside Outer Space screengrab

Additional experiment racks will be included in the two lab modules, focused on fluids, space materials, fundamental physics and combustion, together with the extravehicular experiment platform, Zhang said.

Zhang reports that more than 10 life-science experiments on plants, animals and microbial cells will be carried out in the Wentian lab module, including a small closed ecosystem composed of small fish, microorganisms and algae, adds the Xinhua story.

Atomic clock

The Mengtian lab module is to house the world’s first space-based cold atomic clock consisting of a hydrogen clock, a rubidium clock and an optical clock.

Shenzhou-13 crew now wrapping up 6 month flight.
Credit: CCCTV/China Media Group

Space cold atomic clock technology is expected to contribute to higher-precision satellite positioning and navigation, and support fundamental physics research such as dark matter probes and gravitational wave detection.

Gao Ming, director of the CSU and general director of the space application system of China’s human spaceflight program, added that a number of scientific research facilities have been developed to support more than 1,000 in-orbit research projects.

A ground experiment base in Huairou Science City in the northeastern suburbs of Beijing is being built. It will provide experimental conditions similar to those of the space station enabling ground verification for the space station program, and to support space-earth comparison experiments, Zhang said.

Shenzhou-13 crew members.
Credit: CNS/Inside Outer Space screengrab

Public lecture

Meanwhile, the currently orbiting crew members aboard China’s core station — the Shenzhou-13 astronauts Zhai Zhigang, Wang Yaping and Ye Guangfu – are set to livestream their second public lecture this week.

The first lecture in the “Tiangong Class” series was delivered on Dec. 9, 2021.

The Shenzhou-13 crew entered the Tianhe core module of China’s space station on October 16, 2021 and are now wrapping up a six-month stay in space – China’s longest-ever crewed mission. They are expected to return to Earth in mid-April.