JIUQUAN - China will launch an extension module at an appropriate time and upgrade the basic configuration of the space station from the current T shape to a cross shape, announced a senior official from the China Manned Space Agency at a press conference on Wednesday.

The extension module will install space science experiment cabinets and large extra-vehicular experiment equipment in multiple fields with expanded application scale to meet the new needs of space science research and application, said Lin Xiqiang, deputy director of the CMSA.

The space station will also upgrade the facilities and equipment related to astronauts' in-orbit protection, exercise, diet and hygiene to improve the support level of their work, life and health.

The CMSA also plans to launch a space-survey telescope to stay in the same orbit as the space station for wide-field space observation, he added.