The transposition of the Mengtian lab module was completed at 9:32 a.m. (BJT) on Thursday, marking the completion of the basic T-shaped structure of China's space station, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMS).

The T-shaped structure is formed by the Tianhe core module and Wentian and Mengtian lab modules. Tianhe provides life support for astronauts on board and functions as the control center of the space station, while Mengtian and Wentian are mainly for microgravity scientific research and space life science research, respectively. 

The Shenzhou-14 crew currently on board the space station will enter Mengtian on Thursday afternoon.

During the transposition maneuver, Mengtian first completed its state configuration and separated from Tianhe. It then conducted the transposition and docked with the side port of the space station's node cabin. The transposition process took about one hour, according to the CMS.

Mengtian will also serve future extravehicular research projects of the space station, with its cargo airlock cabin and a deployed extravehicular platform, the CMS said earlier.

The science equipment that needs to be installed outside will first be sent to the space station by cargo craft, then transferred outside through the cargo airlock cabin, and then installed on the extravehicular platform by mechanical arms or astronauts. 

The CMS plans to carry out functional tests and evaluation of the space station assembly in the future.