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China Space Program

China became the third country ever to launch a human into space in 2003 and has been expanding its space program ever since. Get the latest news about China's space program, launches and space missions.

Related Topics: International Space Station, India Mars Orbiter Mission, Rocket Launches 

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Two Chinese astronauts as seen on the space station Tiangong-2 on Oct. 19, 2016.

China wants to build a new space station. A planned launch in April will set the stage.

By Elizabeth Howell

China is planning a launch in April to prepare for building the country's next space station.

China's Long March 2D rocket lifts off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center on Feb. 19, 2020, carrying four Xin Jishu Shiyan test satellites to orbit.

Coronavirus isn't stopping China from launching rockets

By Elizabeth Howell

China resumed satellite launches Wednesday (Feb. 19) amid the ongoing coronavirus outbreak, lofting a Long March 2D rocket in the country's first launch since the Chinese New Year.

Rock fragments, including one specimen (circled) targeted for analysis, discovered by the Yutu-2 rover.

What's up with that rock? China's moon rover finds something strange on the far side.

By Andrew Jones

China's Yutu-2 lunar rover has discovered what appear to be relatively young rocks during its recent exploration activities on the lunar far side.

An image from an image of China's Long March 8 rocket launching.

China prepares to launch new rockets as part of push to boost space program

By Andrew Jones

China has quietly begun preparations to launch a new range of Long March rockets to boost its space capabilities and carry out major projects.

The crew module (top) and service module of the new Chinese crewed spacecraft.

China readies its new deep-space crew capsule for 1st test flight

By Andrew Jones

A Chinese next-generation spacecraft for taking astronauts to low Earth orbit and beyond has arrived at a coastal spaceport in preparation for a test flight.

lunar surface chang'e mission

China releases huge batch of amazing Chang'e-4 images from moon's far side

By Andrew Jones

China's long-lived lunar robots Chang'e-4 and Yutu-2 are once again at work on the far side of the moon, where they woke up for their 14th day on Jan. 18 and 19.

A Chinese Long March 2D rocket launched four satellites, two for China and two for Argentinian company Satellogic, into orbit from the Taiyun Satellite Launch Center on Jan. 15, 2020.

China lofts 4 satellites into orbit with its second launch of 2020

By Andrew Jones

China successfully sent four satellites into orbit early on Wednesday (Jan. 15) with the country's second launch of 2020.

A Chinese Long March 3B rocket launched the TJS 5 experimental satellite into orbit from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center on Jan. 7, 2020.

China kicks off 2020 with mystery satellite launch: report

By Elizabeth Howell

China's first rocket launch of 2020 was a mystery payload, with Chinese state media and independent analysts making different claims about the goal of the mission.

China's Yutu 2 rover leaves tracks on the far side of the moon. The rover and its Chang'e-4 lander hit the one-year mark on the moon on Jan. 3, 2020.

On Far Side of the Moon, Chinese Lander and Rover Hit One-Year Mark

By Leonard David

China hit a historic milestone on the moon Friday (Jan. 3) as its Chang'e 4 lander and rover celebrated their first full year exploring the lunar far side.

China's massive heavy-lift Long March 5 rocket returns to flight in a dazzling nighttime launch from the Wenchang Space Launch Center on Hainan Island.

China's Huge Long March 5 Rocket Returns to Flight in Dazzling Nighttime Launch

By Tariq Malik

China's biggest rocket, the Long March 5, returned to flight for the first time since a 2017 failure Friday (Dec. 27) in a dazzling nighttime launch for the Chinese space program.

A Russian Soyuz rocket carried two NASA astronauts, Nick Hague and Christina Koch, and cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin, toward the International Space Station on March 14, 2019.

The Greatest Spaceflight Moments of 2019

By Elizabeth Howell

Three lunar missions, commercial spaceflight milestones, the first all-woman spacewalk — 2019 was a busy year in space for public and private entities alike.

China's Long March 5 heavy-lift rocket rolls out ahead of a return-to-flight launch planned for Dec. 27, 2019.

China Prepping for Comeback Launch of Heavy-Lift Long March 5 Rocket Friday

By Leonard David

The launch will be the third ever for the Long March 5, and the first since a July 2017 liftoff ended in failure.

A Chinese Long March 4B rocket lifts off from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in north China on Dec. 20, 2019, carrying nine satellites, including the Chinese-Brazilian remote sensing satellite CBERS-4A and Ethiopia's first satellite, ETRSS-1.

Long March Rocket Launches Chinese-Brazilian Mission and 1st Ethiopian Satellite

By Andrew Jones

China successfully launched nine satellites early on Friday (Dec. 20) as the country cements its place at the top of the 2019 launch table.

China's champion long-duration moon rover, Yutu 2.

China's Farside Moon Rover Breaks Lunar Longevity Record

By Leonard David

China’s farside rover, Yutu 2, has broken the longevity record for working on the surface of the moon.

China Launches 2 Beidou Navigation Satellites, Nearly Completing Constellation

By Elizabeth Howell

As 2019 draws to a close, China shows no sign of slowing down its recent feverish pace of launching rockets successfully.

A Chinese Kuaizhou-1A rocket launches six satellites into orbit from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center just six hours after a different Kuaizhou-1A launched a separate mission.

Two Chinese Kuaizhou-1A Rockets Launch Back-to-Back Flights Just Hours Apart

By Elizabeth Howell

They launched 6 hours apart.

China launched another satellite into orbit on Thanksgiving (Nov. 28, 2019).

China Just launched a New Earth-Watching Satellite Into Orbit

By Elizabeth Howell

On Thanksgiving (Nov. 28), China launched yet another satellite into Earth's orbit, capping off a very busy month for the country.

A series of three photographs show a Dutch radio antenna as it unfolded from the Chinese lunar relay satellite, Queqiao.

Radio Telescope Unfurls 3 Antennas Beyond the Far Side of the Moon

By Meghan Bartels

In a quiet orbit around the far side of the moon, three radio antennas are now outstretched, craning for whispers from a mysterious period early in the universe's history.

China's first heavy-lift Long March 5 rocket launched on Nov. 3, 2016.

China's Big Ambitions for Space Are Riding on a December Launch

By Andrew Jones

China recently staged a show test of its Mars lander looking ahead to the program's launch next summer. But an equally crucial mission component faces a different kind of test in December.

Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera images taken before and after the impact of China's Longjiang-2 satellite show the crater likely formed by the event.

China's Microsatellite Crash Site on the Moon Spotted by NASA Lunar Orbiter

By Leonard David

A NASA spacecraft circling the moon has spotted the scar left by a Chinese satellite's impact.