China just sent a new batch of supplies toward its Tiangong space station.
A Long March 7 rocket lifted off from Wenchang Satellite Launch Center on Hainan island this evening (July 14) at 5:34 p.m. EDT (2134 GMT; 5:34 a.m. on July 15 China Standard Time), carrying the Tianzhou 9 freighter skyward.
Tianzhou 9 is hauling about 7.2 tons (6.5 metric tons) of cargo to Tiangong, which is currently occupied by the three astronauts (or taikonauts, as China calls them) of the Shenzhou 20 mission.
Among the supplies are food, fuel and a variety of hardware and scientific equipment, including two spacesuits.
“These brand-new spacesuits feature an extended operational lifespan, from three years of 15 spacewalks previously to four years of 20 spacewalks,” the state-run China Global Television Network (CGTN) reported.
“Tianzhou 9 will also bring a set of core muscle training device[s] to further upgrade the space station’s gym, which will help taikonauts counteract muscle atrophy in microgravity,” the outlet added.
As its name suggests, Tianzhou 9 is the ninth cargo mission that China has launched to support its astronauts in low Earth orbit.
The first Tianzhou lifted off in April 2017 and docked with Tiangong 2, a prototype space lab that tested technology ahead of the construction of the larger Tiangong outpost. The other Tianzhous have either met up with Tiangong proper or its core module, which launched in April 2021.
China finished building the three-module Tiangong space station in October 2022. The outpost is about 20% as massive as the International Space Station, but that could change: China has voiced a desire to expand Tiangong in the coming years.