China's Space Station Is Preparing to Host 1,000
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News in focus JIN LIWANG/XINHUA/EYEVINE Chinese astronaut Nie Haisheng works inside the Tianhe module. CHINA’S SPACE STATION IS PREPARING TO HOST 1,000 SCIENTIFIC EXPERIMENTS Researchers are eagerly awaiting the completion of Tiangong, to study topics from dark matter and gravitational waves to the growth of cancer and pathogenic bacteria. By Smriti Mallapaty “We need more space stations, because The ISS was launched in 1998, as a partner- one space station is definitely not enough,” ship between space agencies from the United hina launched the core of its space adds Agnieszka Pollo, an astrophysicist at States, Russia, Europe, Japan and Canada (see station in April, and sent three astro- the National Centre for Nuclear Research ‘Variations on a theme’). It has housed more nauts up in June. But although the in Warsaw who is part of a team sending an than 3,000 experiments since then, but China space station won’t be complete until experiment to study γ-ray bursts. is barred because of US rules that prohibit late 2022, there is already a long queue NASA from collaborating with China. Cof experiments from around the world waiting Although most experiments slated for VARIATIONS ON A THEME to go up. Scientists in China told Nature that the Tiangong will be much smaller than the International Tiangong will involve Chinese researchers, China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) has tenta- Space Station (ISS), but will still have space for plenty China says that its space station will be open of scientific experiments. tively approved more than 1,000 experiments, to collaboration from all countries, including Tiangong several of which have already been launched. Mass: 66–100 tonnes the United States. Before April, the International Space Station Length: 37 metres (ISS) was the only space laboratory in orbit, and Crew capacity: 3 (up to 6) Open to the world Orbital height: ~400 km many researchers say Tiangong (or ‘heavenly In June 2019, the CMSA and the United Nations palace’) is a welcome addition for astronom- Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) chose ical and Earth observation, and for studying 9 experiments — in addition to the 1,000 that how microgravity and cosmic radiation affect China has tentatively approved — to go up phenomena such as bacterial growth and fluid once the space station is complete. Simonetta mixing. However, others argue that crewed Di Pippo, director of UNOOSA in Vienna, says space stations are costly, and serve more of a these involve 23 institutions in 17 nations. political than a scientific purpose. China previously launched two small space “Increased scientific access to space is of labs — Tiangong-1 and Tiangong-2. These scientific benefit globally, no matter who ISS hosted more than 100 experiments, circling builds and operates platforms,” says Julie Mass: 420 tonnes Earth for several years. Length: 109 metres Robinson, chief scientist for human explora- Crew capacity: 6 (up to 9) The space station offers brand new facili- tion and operations at NASA in Washington DC. Orbital height: 400 km ties, and China is encouraging experiments 20 | Nature | Vol 596 | 5 August 2021 ©2021 Spri nger Nature Li mited. All rights reserved. ©2021 Spri nger Nature Li mited. All rights reserved. not attempted in space before, says Tricia CHINA’S FIRST SPACE STATION Larose, a medical researcher at the University China aims to finish construction of Tiangong in late 2022. The station will be used to test of Oslo, who is leading a project planned for technologies for human space exploration and as a laboratory for scientific experiments. 2026. “They’re saying, yes, build your hard- Set to launch in 2022 ware, make it brand new, do something that has never been done before.” Even though most approved projects are led by Chinese researchers, many have interna- tional collaborators, says Zhang Shuang-Nan, Wentian Shenzhou First experimental module. Crewed vessel, arrived an astrophysicist at the Chinese Academy of Will host scientific research in June. Transports Sciences (CAS) Institute of High Energy Phys- and serve as living quarters. astronauts. ics in Beijing, who advises the CMSA. The first section of Tiangong to arrive was a core module known as Tianhe (‘harmony of the heavens’). In late May, a cargo ship Tianzhou Uncrewed spacecraft, named Tianzhou-2 (‘heavenly ship’) was sent arrived in May. Transports up and docked, delivering fuel, space suits cargo and supplies. and experimental equipment. In June, three Chinese astronauts — or ‘taikonauts’ — aboard Shenzhou-12 (‘divine vessel’) also docked, entering the 17-metre-long chamber that will be their home for the next three months. Tianhe Mengtian Over the next year or more, the CMSA will Core module, Second experimental send another eight missions to Tiangong. launched in April. module. Will host Two will deliver the Wentian (‘quest for heav- Houses astronauts and scientific research. some experiments. ens’) and Mengtian (‘dreaming of heavens’) modules, which will mainly house scientific experiments (see ‘China’s first space station’). These will be “the playrooms of scientists”, IMAGES/ALAMY MANN/STOCKTREK ADRIAN IMAGE: says Paulo de Souza, a physicist at Griffith Uni- versity in Brisbane, Australia, who develops infrared data from Earth, to study meteorolog- the Union of Concerned Scientists, an advo- sensors used in space. ical conditions and what drives intense storms. cacy group in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The space station will have more than Despite many of the projects being partner- “Within China, as within the United States, 20 experimental racks, which are mini-labs ships between Chinese and Western scientists, there has been a tension between scientists with pressurized environments, says Yang geopolitical tensions have made collabora- who want to do the best science they possibly Yang, director of international cooperation at tions more difficult, notes Larose. She says can and who prefer robotic missions, and gov- the CAS Technology and Engineering Center for Norway has yet to sign a bilateral agreement ernments who want to use human space-flight Space Utilization in Beijing. Outside, there will with China that would give her project the programmes largely for political purposes.” be 67 connection points for research hardware green light. Merlin Kole, an astrophysicist at But other researchers point out that facing Earth or the sky, says Yang. A powerful the University of Geneva in Switzerland, who although satellites offer an alternative for central computer will process data from exper- is also working on POLAR-2, adds that stricter some observations, for many experiments, iments before beaming them back to Earth. adherence to export regulations means particularly those requiring microgravity, crewed space stations are essential. They Organoids and dark matter “We need more space provide a home for long-term observations, The experiments being sent up encompass data-processing capacity and access for astro- numerous fields. Zhang is the principal investi- stations, because one nauts who can perform maintenance tasks and gator for HERD (High Energy Cosmic-Radiation space station is definitely run the experiments. Detection facility), which is a partnership not enough.” Furthermore, as well as housing experi- involving Italy, Switzerland, Spain and ments, Tiangong is intended to test human Germany, slated for 2027. This particle detector space-travel technologies to support China’s will study dark matter and cosmic rays, and will there is added bureaucracy around sending space-exploration goals, says Zhang. cost some 1 billion to 2 billion yuan (US$155 mil- electronic hardware to China. With current ISS funding running only until lion to $310 million), says Zhang. But Di Pippo says that tensions have so far sometime between 2024 and 2028, it’s also Zhang and Pollo are also involved in had no impact on the projects selected by possible that Tiangong will eventually become POLAR-2, which will study the polarization of UNOOSA, adding that the agency is discuss- Earth’s only space station in operation. γ-rays emitted from distant explosions, with ing plans with the CMSA to send more exper- Tiangong is projected to operate for at the goal of clarifying the properties of γ-ray iments to Tiangong by the end of next year. least a decade, and China already has plans bursts, and possibly even gravitational waves. Some scientists have argued that crewed to launch other spacecraft to work in tandem Larose plans to send up 3D blobs of healthy space stations are a waste of money — the cost with it. The China Survey Space Telescope, or and cancerous tissue, known as organoids. She of Tiangong has not been made public, but the Xuntian (‘survey the heavens’), is a 2-metre wants to find out whether the very-low-gravity ISS cost some €100 billion (US$118 billion) to optical telescope that will rival NASA’s Hubble environment will slow or stop the growth of the build and maintain for its first decade. Space Telescope and periodically dock with cancerous cells, which might lead to therapies. “You’d get a much bigger scientific bang for Tiangong for maintenance. Launching in 2023, Other projects from India and Mexico will the buck with robotic missions,” says Gregory it will have a larger field of view for peering into study ultraviolet emissions from nebulae and Kulacki, an analyst on China security issues for the deep Universe than does Hubble. Nature | Vol 596 | 5 August 2021 | 21 ©2021 Spri nger Nature Li mited. All rights reserved. ©2021 Spri nger Nature Li mited. All rights reserved. .