China unveils new space station as the ISS nears its end

As the sole operational space station, the International Space Station (ISS), is nearing its end, China has revealed its own replica of ISS that will be launched in coming years.

China unveiled its own life-size replica of its first ever permanently crewed space station called ‘Tiangong’, meaning ‘Heavenly Palace’ in Chinese. The model was unveiled on Tuesday at the largest aerospace exhibition in the country, Airshow China.

Tiangong’s center module is 55ft long, weighs 60 tons and can fit in three astronauts – a smaller place as compared to the ISS, which is almost as large as an American football field when counted with its massive solar panels, compared Futurism.

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The space station will also have two other modules for scientific experiments and will be equipped with solar panels; allowing scientists to carry out research in biology and microgravity. Though the space station will belong to China, it will be open for all UN countries.

The complete construction of the Heavenly Palace is expected to be completed around 2022, and the space station is expected to have a lifespan of around 10 years.

As per Daily Mail, the ISS was a collaboration between the US, Canada, Europe, Russia and Japan, and has been in orbit since 1998. However, the space station is due to end in 2024, then making the Chinese space station the only one in orbit, although much smaller.