The agency said that in 2025 a total of 1,179 kilograms of experimental instruments, materials, and other necessities for science and technology missions were transported to Tiangong, while 105 kilograms of experimental samples were brought back to Earth for further study. More than 150 terabits of scientific data were transmitted from the station to ground control.

Major accomplishments on board the station in 2025 included China's first in-orbit experiments involving rodent mammals and what the agency described as the world's first in-orbit tests of a pipe-checking robot.

Chinese researchers published more than 230 academic papers and registered over 70 patents during 2025 that drew on experiments and data from Tiangong, the agency noted.

Completed in late 2022, Tiangong is currently the only operating space station independently run by a single nation and orbits Earth at an altitude of about 400 kilometers. With an overall mass of about 100 metric tons, it is one of the largest and most complex structures assembled in space.

The station has three permanent components, the Tianhe core module and two large science lab modules called Wentian and Mengtian, and is currently connected with two visiting craft, the Shenzhou XXII crew ship and the Tianzhou 9 cargo ship.

To date, Tiangong has accommodated 25 astronauts from 10 crews, with several astronauts taking part in two spaceflights to the outpost. By the end of last year, 265 scientific and technological projects had been arranged or conducted on board, covering life science, microgravity physics, and new space technologies, according to the agency.

Related Links
China Manned Space Agency
The Chinese Space Program - News, Policy and Technology
China News from SinoDaily.com