ON BOARD THE MODULAR STATION

1 Tianhe core module and living quarters

The core module of the space station, Tianhe will house the main living quarters for crews of three taikonauts during visits up to six months at a time.

2 Tianhe docking hub

Tianhe will house a docking hub to allow for the joining of experimental modules, visiting Tianzhou cargo vessels and crewed Shenzhou spacecraft.

3 Wentian

This module will be primarily used for scientific research, as well as acting as a working and living space during an emergency. Wentian can also be used to control aspects of the space station relating to propulsion and orientation should there be an issue with Tianhe.

4 Mengtian

Similar to Wentian, both modules possess an air lock chamber to support extravehicular activities, as well as a small mechanical arm to aid installation and operation of extravehicular instruments.

5 Manoeuvrable solar arrays

The solar arrays will provide electrical power to the space station. When the space station passes into Earth’s shadow, stored energy is used to power the space station.

6 Tianzhou cargo ship

This cargo freighter will resupply the space station with fuel and essentials. It will act in a similar fashion to Russia’s Progress or SpaceX’s Cargo Dragon capsule.

7 Shenzhou spacecraft

This spacecraft – similar in design to Russia’s Soyuz capsule – will ferry taikonauts to and from the space station. It has been used in previous missions to space labs Tiangong-1 and 2.

8 Xuntian space telescope

Currently under construction is an ambitious telescope with a proposed lens two metres (6.6 feet) in diameter. Xuntian will have a field of view 300 times larger than that of Hubble. Xuntian will be placed into orbit close to the space station so it can dock for repairs and upgrades.