Chinese space station to carry domestic hydrogen atomic clock

China's space station, to be launched in 2022, will be equipped with a domestically developed active hydrogen atomic clock, said the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp (CASIC) Friday.

The active hydrogen atomic clock will be a key equipment of China's space time frequency lab aboard the space station, according to a press release from the clock developer, a CASIC institute in Beijing.

"The lab aims to provide more accurate and stable time frequency signals with the help of the active hydrogen atomic clock, which can improve China's BeiDou Navigation Satellite System," the release said.

The active hydrogen atomic clock, which weighs about 40 kg, is only one-fifth of the size of a traditional hydrogen atomic clock.

"Researchers will improve the reliability of the atomic clock so that it will better fulfill its duty in space," said Zhou Tiezhong, chief of the research team.