China plans to expand its space station in near-Earth orbit by launching a new module that will dock with the existing structure and create a cross-shaped combination.
As the space station construction completed in December, China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) made public its follow-up plans at an exhibition in Beijing of achievements in China’s manned space program of 30 years.
The new module, which will function as a node cabin, will have multiple docking ports like the core module Tianhe, allowing the space station to accommodate more spaceships, according to the CMSA.
The agency added that China plans to extend the in-orbit operation of its space station by implementing updates and upgrades.
A new generation reusable near-Earth crewed spacecraft being developed by China, capable of sending four to seven humans into orbit and returning to Earth with more than 700 kilograms of payloads, was also on display during the event. The nation’s current spacecraft has the capacity to send three men into orbit and return with 50 kilograms of payload.
The performance of space applications will take precedence over technological advancements made during the construction phase for the space station. Many experiments are either already running in the space station or are about to start. Several of them focus on learning how to fend off bacteria that could corrode the metals of spacecraft, generate oxygen from algae in space, and transform heat energy into electricity.
The first two-photon microscope of its sort in the world was recently used by the Chinese astronauts of the Shenzhou-15 crew to successfully capture 3D structural images of their skin cells.
The space station will execute more than 1,000 applications across 65 projects in the upcoming years. According to the CMSA, this initiative seeks to enhance critical technologies in special material preparation, stem cell and regenerative medicine, high-precision time-frequency systems, and quantum precision measurement.
As a component of the space station project, the Chinese Survey Space Telescope (CSST), also known as the Chinese Space Station Telescope (CSST), will be launched. During routine observations, the telescope will fly independently in the same orbit as China’s space station.
