China’s future space sation Tianhe (“Heavenly Palace”) Tianhe is the largest spacecraft developed by China so far, with a total length of 16.6 meters, a maximum diameter of 4.2 meters and a take-off mass of 22.5 tonnes. When the construction is completed, the space station will be T-shaped, with the core module at the center and a lab capsule on each side. The three-module station will offer astronauts more than 100 cubic meters of room for living and working, providing six zones for work, sleep, sanitation, dining, healthcare and exercise. The dining zone features a retractable dining table and equipment to heat or refrigerate food, as well as supplying drinking water, while a space treadmill and a space bike can be found in the exercise zone. Thanks to the WIFI technology used in the core module, controlling cabin lighting and checking the inventory in the station will become easy for astronauts. They will be able to make use of space-Earth communication links, including two-way video calls and email messages.
