Tiangong Program made it possible for scientists to build a large space station so that more astronauts can live and do research in space.

No chance, then, that we'll ever see astronauts telling us the ugly truth about life among the stars: "Bloody boring up here: space toilet's broken and now the computer's playing up."

To survive for years in space, astronauts may need to bring along miniature ecosystems that provide necessities such as oxygen and food.