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What it is : China ’s Tiangong infinite station .
When it was taken : Oct. 30 , 2023 .
China have released the first clear image of the finished Tiangong space station.
Where it is : Low - Earth orbit , between 210 and 280 mile ( 340 and 450 kilometers ) above Earth ’s surface .
Where it was take : Shenzhou 16 riposte module .
Why it ’s so special :
This is the first unmortgaged photograph of China ’s completed Tiangong quad station , which became fully useable last class . The satisfyingly harmonious image was taken by Chinese spaceman , or taikonauts , as they left the station after a five - month stay on panel the revolve habitat .
Tiangong station , which signify " heavenly palace " in Chinese , is made from three modules : Tianhe , which was launched in April 2021 ; Wentian , which was plunge in July 2022 ; and Mengtian , which was plunge in October 2022 . The ruined place is 180 feet ( 55 time ) long and librate 77 tons ( 70 metric tons ) , which makes it around one - fifth the weight of theInternational Space Station , agree to Live Science ’s baby siteSpace.com .
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The photo was taken by the Shenzhou 16 foreign mission ’s crew — Jing Haipeng , Zhu Yangzhu and Gui Haichao — shortly after they left the station in their comeback module .
— Space photo of the calendar week : Gargantuan sunspots photobomb the reality ’s largest telescope
— historical outer space photo of the week : Voyager 2 spies a violent storm on Saturn 42 years ago
— distance pic of the workweek : A radio ' band of fire ' demonstrate a solar eclipse as never discover before
The crew after had an unsettling trip back to Earth as one of the seedpod ’s parachute ripped open on descent , which caused the module to set ashore with a thump in the Gobi Desert , Space.com account . But the passengers were unharmed .
While they were in blank space , the Shenzhou 16 crew completed a number of interesting experiments , includinggrowing kale and tomatoes , as well aslighting a match to create a high-risk fireball .
