Space station providing unique environment for research firsts

Fully equipped

The space station is equipped with over 20 internal scientific experiment cabinets and three external experiment platforms. Major research tools, such as the two-meter aperture China Space Station Telescope, are under development, offering experimental platforms to scientists across various fields.

In addition to the research projects, the space station will "heavily promote scientific outreach and international cooperation", Gu said.

Scientists have already conducted pioneering experiments on the space station, such as obtaining new rice germplasm resources, differentiating embryonic stem cells into hematopoietic cells, and achieving the longest-running space aquatic ecosystem.

Since its inception, the space station has launched eight manned missions and seven cargo missions, hosted 21 astronauts and achieved a stable space living environment, according to a report released by China Manned Space Agency at the end of last year.

According to data from the CAS, over 180 science and application projects have been conducted on the space station, generating more than 265 terabytes of scientific data, over 150 patents, and several results have been transferred and applied.