Final module docks at Tiangong space station

Building blocks: This simulated image shows Mengtian lab module docking with the front port of core module. — Xinhua

Beijing: The final module of China’s Tiangong space station successfully docked with the core structure, state media said – a key step in its completion by year’s end and a landmark moment in the country’s space ambitions.

Tiangong is one of the crown jewels in Beijing’s well-funded programme – which has landed robotic rovers on Mars and the Moon, and made the country only the third to put humans in orbit – as it looks to catch up with major spacefaring powers like the United States and Russia.