--- description: Tiangong-1, China's first space lab, mostly burned up after reentering Earth's atmosphere, China's Manned Space Agency said in a statement title: China's Space Station Has Returned to Earth image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf1c6f4b4d3bc8423/69892c907cdbac3d89d5c799/gettyimages-106902887.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Science](/section/science/) ## Science Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Space](/tag/space/) ## Space Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # China's Tiangong-1 Space Lab Has Made Its Fiery Return to Earth by [Eli Meixler](/author/eli/) ## Eli Meixler Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 2, 2018 3:18 AM CUT  A prototype of the China-made unmanned space module "Tiangong-1" in Zhuhai, Guangzhou, China on Nov. 15, 2010. A prototype of the China-made unmanned space module "Tiangong-1" in Zhuhai, Guangzhou, China on Nov. 15, 2010.VCG/Getty Images by [Eli Meixler](/author/eli/) ## Eli Meixler Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 2, 2018 3:18 AM CUT Chinese authorities say the Tiangong-1 space station [re-entered](https://edition.cnn.com/2018/04/01/asia/tiangong-1-china-space-lab-falls-intl/index.html "undefined") Earth’s atmosphere Monday, marking an end to the country’s first space lab mission. The Tiangong-1 [made re-entry](http://www.cmse.gov.cn/art/2018/4/2/art%5F810%5F32427.html "undefined") over the Pacific Ocean around 8:15 a.m. Beijing time (8:15 p.m. Sunday EST), with most of its parts burning up before crashing into the southern Pacific Ocean, the China Manned Space Agency said in a statement. The space station began its uncontrolled free-fall earlier this year. > [](https://twitter.com/PDChina/status/980618340967227393) The 40-foot, 18,000-lb space lab, whose name means “Heavenly Palace,” was [launched in September 2011](http://world.time.com/2011/09/29/with-latest-launch-china-plots-course-for-space-station/ "undefined") with a two-year lifespan to [monitor](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/03/31/science/tiangong-1-chinese-space-station.html?emc=edit%5Fmbae%5F20180401&nl=&nlid=7605347020180401&te=1 "undefined") the Earth’s surface temperature, sea ice and vegetation cover, according to the New York _Times._ Tiangong-1 was also planned as the first step in China’s [ambitions](http://science.time.com/2013/06/12/beijing-we-have-a-space-program/ "undefined") to hold a [permanent space station](http://time.com/4240916/china-second-space-laboratory-tiangong-2/ "undefined") in orbit by 2022. Chinese astronauts have been [barred](http://time.com/3901419/space-station-no-chinese/ "undefined") from the U.S.-led International Space Station since 2011 over “national security” concerns. But Beijing sent two crews of taikonauts, or Chinese astronauts, to Tiangong-1 in 2012 and 2013, and [landed a rover](https://www.wsj.com/articles/china-lands-its-first-unmanned-probe-on-the-moon-1387029181?tesla=y "undefined") on the Moon in 2014. Chinese scientists lost contact with the station in 2016, severing their ability to control its trajectory, and in May 2017, China [announced](http://www.unoosa.org/res/oosadoc/data/documents/2017/aac%5F105/aac%5F1051150%5F0%5Fhtml/AC105%5F1150E.pdf "undefined") that that the lab had “ceased functioning” in March 2016 and would be [allowed](http://time.com/5209641/tiangong-1-chinese-space-lab/ "undefined") to tumble to Earth. But the loss of Tiangong-1 hasn’t slowed China’s appetite for the stars — it’s successor, Tiangong-2, was [launched](http://time.com/4495308/china-launches-second-space-station-tiangong-2/ "undefined") in September 2016. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5224209/china-tiangong-1-space-station/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5224209/china-tiangong-1-space-station/"},"headline":"China's Tiangong-1 Space Lab Has Made Its Fiery Return to Earth","datePublished":"2018-04-02T03:18:52.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T19:50:32.073Z","description":"The free-falling space station mostly burned up before landing in the southern Pacific Ocean","url":"https://time.com/5224209/china-tiangong-1-space-station/","keywords":["Space","onetime","overnight"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf1c6f4b4d3bc8423/69892c907cdbac3d89d5c799/gettyimages-106902887.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eli Meixler","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/eli/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf1c6f4b4d3bc8423/69892c907cdbac3d89d5c799/gettyimages-106902887.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"The 8th China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition","caption":"The 8th China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition","creditText":"VCG/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/space/","name":"Space"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5224209/china-tiangong-1-space-station/","name":"China's Tiangong-1 Space Lab Has Made Its Fiery Return to Earth"}}]}] ```