China's space station is nearing completion with its second lab module getting ready for launch and its next manned mission Shenzhou-15 scheduled before the year end.

The station presently comprises a core module, a space lab, a manned spacecraft and a cargo ship, and with the second lab module, it will form a T-shape in the low Earth orbit about 400 kilometers above the surface.

The station's in-orbit assembly began in April 2021 when Tianhe core module was launched atop the country's largest carrier rocket Long March-5B from Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in south China's Hainan Province.

Less than two months later, Shenzhou-12 spacecraft was launched atop Long March-2F rocket from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China and three taikonauts onboard the spacecraft entered the station for the first time.

Since then, multiple launch missions have been conducted. Following the Shenzhou-12 mission, Shenzhou-13 and Shenzhou-14 crews entered the station in October 2021 and June 2022, respectively. In the three missions, six space walks were conducted in total.

With a 30-year experience of China Manned Space Program, the time of the taikonauts' stay in space has increased from less than a day some 20 years ago to half a year now.

For the Chinese space program, the time it takes to dock in space has been shortened from 44 hours to just seven over the past decade.

The first lab module, Wentian, was sent into space in July to dock with Tianhe. And now it's time for the second lab module, Mengtian.

Chinese astronauts conducted scientific experiments in the first lab module, particularly with thale cress and rice, and will do more in the second lab where eight experimental boxes for physics studies are installed.

The station will operate in orbit for more than 10 years, and hundreds of experiments could be conducted inside and outside the station, contributing to the peaceful exploration of outer space, according to the China Manned Space Agency.