China's space station recently gained a new module and with it a pair of huge, solar energy-capturing "wings" that can rotate as the outpost orbits the Earth.
A new video from China's human spaceflight agency, CMSA, shows the large solar arrays rotating around the Tiangong space station as our blue and white planet passes below.
Three Shenzhou 14 mission astronauts—who are currently aboard Tiangong and preparing for a first extravehicular activity, or spacewalk, from the Wentian module—will greet the module.
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The solar panels are designed to provide power for the Tiangong space station which China plans to keep permanently inhabited by rotating crews of three astronauts for over a decade.
Meanwhile, the older, larger International Space Station has solar arrays with a wingspan of 240 feet (73 meters) to power its activities in orbit. .
When completed Tiangong will be around 20% as massive as the International Space Station, which has a mass of about 460 tons. .
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