Following the launch of the Wentian module early on Sunday, China is planning to expand its space station by adding a new compartment. A Long March 5B heavy-lift rocket that launched at 2:25 in the morning carried Wentian to space. the Wenchang spaceport on the southern island of Hainan at 2:25 p.m. Beijing time (06:25 EDT).

The 58.7-foot-long (17.9-meter) module will soon align with the orbit of Tianhe, the first space station module to be launched by China in April 2021. Later on Sunday, Wentian is anticipated to meet and dock with a port connected to Tianhe.

The second of three modules that China intends to launch is called Wentian, which means "quest for the heavens" in Chinese. The Tiangong space station, which is shaped like a T, will be finished by a third rocket, Mengtian, which is planned to launch in October. The finished Tiangong will be nearly 20% larger than the International Space Station (ISS), which has a mass of about 460 tons when the Shenzhou crew spacecraft and Tianzhou cargo ship are docked at the station.

Awaiting the arrival of the new module, three Shenzhou 14 astronauts are now stationed on Tianhe. According to Chinese official media, after passing tests, the group will give the first live scientific lecture from Wentian in the near future.

Wentian's primary function is to house a number of experiment cabinets that let astronauts carry out a variety of scientific experiments in orbit. It also carries solar arrays and a new airlock for spacewalks. The first of these handovers is anticipated to take place prior to the departure of the present crew in December, and it includes additional astronaut sleeping chambers to enable China to undertake crew handovers during which six crew members temporarily stay aboard Tiangong.

Although Wentian will begin its stay at Tianhe's forward docking port, at some point in the upcoming months, Wentian will be moved to a side port using the main module's 33-foot-long (10 m) robotic arm.

Tianzhou 3, a cargo spacecraft that brought supplies to the space station to assist an earlier human trip, was used by China earlier this year to test the necessary maneuvers. To make room for Wentian's arrival, the spacecraft was recently let go.

Wentian is equipped with a robotic arm that is 16.4 feet (5 meters) long and may function alone or in conjunction with its larger Tianhe sibling arm.

For at least ten years, the nation intends to have a permanent crew aboard the Tiangong space station, with each crew of three astronauts staying there for six months. In addition, China has stated that it will host international experiments, the first of which has already been chosen, and invite foreign astronauts and even space tourists to visit the orbital outpost in the future.