Tiangong Space Station and Tianwen Missions

Tiangong ('Heavenly Palace') has been continuously crewed since 2022, with the Shenzhou-20 crew arriving in April 2025. As the ISS approaches decommission (planned for 2030), Tiangong will become the world's only operational space station — giving China unique leverage in space science and diplomacy.

Tianwen-2, launched May 2025, is China's first asteroid sample-return mission, targeting the near-Earth asteroid Kamo'oalewa. If successful, it will make China only the third country (after the US and Japan) to return extraterrestrial samples. The Mengzhou next-generation crewed spacecraft is in development for lunar missions.

The strategic shift: as the US focuses on commercial space (SpaceX, Blue Origin), China is building state-backed infrastructure that other countries can access. Several nations have signed agreements to participate in Tiangong experiments, creating a Chinese-led alternative to the ISS partnership.