<span style="color: #222222;">China has unveiled a replica of its first permanently crewed space station, which would replace the international community's orbiting laboratory, ISS. </span><br />''<br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">The 17-metre core module was a star attraction at the biennial Airshow China in the southern coastal city of Zhuhai. </span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">Three astronauts will be permanently stationed in the 60-tonne orbiting lab, which will enable the crew to conduct biological and microgravity research.</span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">Assembly is expected to be completed around 2022 and the station would have a lifespan of around 10 years.</span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">The International Space Station — a collaboration between the United States, Russia, Canada, Europe and Japan — has been in operation since 1998 but is due to be retired in 2024.</span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">China will then have the only space station in orbit, though it will be much smaller than the ISS which weighs 400 tonnes and is as large as a football pitch.</span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">However, the lab would be open to all countries to conduct science experiments.</span><br />