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| Source: Wikimedia |
The International Space Station or ISS has been a landmark in the history of mankind's space exploration. Currently, it is the largest modular space station in low Earth orbit. It is the result of collaboration of five participating space agencies: NASA (USA), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA (Japan), ESA (Europe) and CSA (Canada). But one country has remained barred from access to the ISS and its experiments for the past 25 years. But now China has an answer with its Chinese Space Station (CSS), the Tiangong which means heavenly palace or palace above the sky. It is nearing its completion. With its completion, CSS is going to bring thousands of advanced experiments inside its futuristic layout. With CSS, China has started a new space race and it might be a step towards a brighter future.
History of Space Stations:
This space race was started by Russia in 1971 when they launched their first space station, Salyut which remained in orbit for 175 days. It was followed by USA made space station, Skylab in year 1973 which remained in orbit for 2,249 days. Then in year 1986 Russia launched its second space station called Mir which remained in orbit for 5,510 days. So, none of these space stations are functional and have been de-orbited. Before 2021 the ISS was the only remaining space station in orbit which was launched by Russia and USA in a joint effort in year 1998. With launch of CSS in year 2021, ISS has its competitor in orbit.
But if you think that the Tiangong is the only space station that China has launched then you are unaware of China's achievement. China launched its Tiangong-1 station in year 2011 which remained in orbit till April 2018. Their second space station, Tiangong-2 was launched in year 2016 and it remained in orbit till July 2019. These Labs were quite small and only around 100 experiments were conducted making them not so impressive. However, the new CSS is far more impressive, and more than 1,000 experiments are already scheduled to be conducted.
ISS vs CSS:
We will start with simple statistical comparisons. The ISS has a mass of about 420 tons and a length of 109 meters whereas the CSS weighs around 100 tons and only 37 meters long. But these numbers don't do justice to CSS. Despite being one fourth in mass of ISS, CSS has 55% space as compared to that of ISS and generates same amount of power. CSS is more modern with a more efficient habitat system. So in current form, it can accommodate 6 persons which is 70% as compared to that of ISS. It uses Ion thrusters to navigate which means it uses lesser fuel than ISS. It can also be used as a low orbit workstation to service and launch objects in space. One of the modules is going to be object launch chamber from which the new satellite can be launched or older one can be repaired. There will be a telescope launch in year 2023 which will fly next to CSS and can be docked to it whenever any repair or upgraded is needed. ISS looks messy with its mechanical setup whereas CSS looks sleek, efficient and something far more aesthetically pleasing. There are 17 countries including India, Japan, Mexico and Switzerland are participating in this program.
The CSS:
The CSS is divided into three parts or modules. The first one is the Tianhe. It is the core module which is the main segment of the station. Then there are two experimental modules, Wentian and Mengtian. These modules are labs used for research. Both the experimental modules have solar arrays attached to their ends generating more than sufficient power for the CSS. The Tianhe module is 16.6 meters in length, and secondary modules Wentian and Mengtian are around 17.9 meters in length. Backups of all the modules are also complete and sitting on ground for future use.
The core module, Tianhe's has docking hub for two separate spacecrafts, and they are already in use as the Tian Zhou and the Shen Zhou spacecrafts have docked there already. It contains the living quarters, the life support systems for the entire station and provides guidance, navigation, power and propulsion to the CSS. There is a giant robotic arm attached to it outside the station. It can be used to help maneuver the additional modules, spaceships and other equipment outside the station.
If we talk about its secondary modules, the Wentian module is a lab that provides pressurized environments for zero gravity experiments and Mengtian module is a larger research space that has eight internal separate Laboratories for research. Mengtian module can also be used to launch micro satellites for research. But the Wentian module offers much more as it provides areas to conduct experiments outside the CSS. It also has its own robotic arm which is significantly more accurate than the main robotic arm attached to main module. It also has its own airlock which allows astronauts to conduct spacewalks outside the CSS. It also has secondary living quarters for additional three members to live aboard the station.
Purpose of CSS:
More than 1,000 experiments are already queued up to be conducted on the station. These experiments will test everything from "the effects of Microgravity and Cosmic Radiation on building structures" to "how fluid dynamics change the nature of evolutionary growth in organisms." It will further be used to look at black holes, dark matter and many other interstellar phenomena. The CSS has the High Energy cosmic-Radiation Detection (HERD) facility that will start its operation in year 2026. It will search for Dark Matter using CALO or "3-D cubic calorimeter". CALO is an advanced device which can help scientists in understanding and locating Dark Matter in better way which could explain why the universe is expanding at the current rate. They will also attempt to clarify the properties of gamma ray bursts which are emitted from the collisions of neutron stars and collapsing stars. In another experiments scientists will investigate the effects of Zero Gravity on the growth of cancer cells in attempt of finding a cure to Cancer. Also, there are studies to analyze and understand the formation of storms on Earth, and studies to understand the effect of outer space in the growth and development of our most common crops and plants.
Conclusion:
So basically, the CSS is going to be much more advanced as compared to the ISS and going to host thousands of experiments that can help scientist to have better understanding about cosmos. The launch of CSS is also going to give us a new age of space race in which USA and its allies will accelerate their progress in order to get ahead of China and China will try to remain ahead with the help of its allies. Anyway, if all these countries kept their temper in control and used the science for betterment of human race, the future is going to be brighter for our upcoming generations.
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