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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An artist’s illustration of the asteroid Kamo’oalewa, the target of China’s Tianwen 2 asteroid-sampling mission. Some astronomers think Kamo’oalewa may be a blasted-off chunk of Earth’s moon.

China to launch Tianwen 2 asteroid-sampling mission in 2025

By Andrew Jones published

The Tianwen 2 mission will sample an asteroid, return to Earth and then head out again to study a second space rock.

Artist's impression of NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter.

The Super Flower Blood Moon eclipse will leave these lunar spacecraft in the dark

By Stefanie Waldek published

The Super Flower Blood Moon lunar eclipse means solar power trouble for spacecraft on the moon

The Zhurong rover looks back on tracks it has left on the surface of Mars.

Water may have been on Mars much more recently than scientists thought, China's rover suggests

By Andrew Jones published

Evidence is growing that Mars, now cold and dry, had liquid water running on its surface much more recently than previously thought.

A high-resolution camera image of Triolet crater taken by Tianwen 1 on April 17, 2022.

China's Mars rover Zhurong is hunkering down for its 1st Red Planet winter

By Andrew Jones published

China's Zhurong Mars rover is adjusting to its first winter on the Red Planet while its companion orbiter continues to map the world from above.

China's robotic Tianzhou 4 cargo spacecraft docks with the Tianhe module on May 9, 2022.

China's new Tianzhou 4 cargo ship docks with Tiangong space station with fresh supplies

By Mike Wall last updated

The robotic Tianzhou 4 docked with Tianhe, the core module of China's under-construction Tiangong space station, about 6.5 hours after launching today (May 9).

The first-stage engines of a Chinese Long March 7 rocket ignite on May 9, 2022 (May 10 local time in China), kicking off the launch of the Tianzhou 4 cargo craft to China's Tianhe space station module.

China launches Tianzhou 4 cargo craft to new Tiangong space station

By Andrew Jones published

China has launched a cargo mission to its Tianhe space station module in preparation for the arrival of a new crew in June.

An artist's depiction of a collection of exoplanets.

China is on the hunt for 'Earth 2.0' with proposed space telescope

By Andrew Jones published

China could soon begin its first space-based hunt for exoplanets.

China Launch March 7 rocket with Tianzhou 4 cargo ship.

Watch live at 1:56 pm ET: China to launch Tianzhou 4 cargo ship to Tiangong space station

By Tariq Malik last updated

China plans to launch the robotic Tianzhou 4 cargo craft to its Tiangong space station today (May 9) at 1:56 p.m. EDT. Watch live here.

The LinkSpace RLV-T6 reusable test article during static fire test preparations.

LinkSpace returns: Chinese startup plans rocket launch and landing this year

By Andrew Jones published

China's LinkSpace plans to send a rocket into space and land it safely in late 2022, three years after the startup's last major test.

The Chang'e 5 return capsule at its landing site in Inner Mongolia, China, on Dec. 17, 2020.

Moon-exploring astronauts could get oxygen and fuel from lunar rocks

By Andrew Jones published

Scientists at Nanjing University believe they can use compounds found in lunar soil to locally produce oxygen and fuel to support crewed moon missions.

This artist's conception shows how China's Tiangong space station will look when it's fully assembled.

China lays out big plans for its new Tiangong space station

By Andrew Jones published

China will launch six major missions before the end of the year to complete its Tiangong space station, which could soon link up with a powerful telescope and host international astronauts.

In the next decade, both a U.S.-led group and a collaboration between Russia and China aim to set up bases on the Moon.

Space Blocs: The future of international cooperation in space is splitting along lines of power on Earth

By Svetla Ben-Itzhak published

Some scholars predict a future in which single states pursue various levels of dominance, while others foresee a scenario in which commercial entities bring nations together.

A Chinese Long March 11 rocket launches five small satellites into orbit from an ocean platform in the East China Sea on April 29, 2022.

China just launched a rocket with 5 satellites to orbit from a platform at sea

By Tariq Malik published

China launched five satellites into orbit on a rocket that lifted from a platform at sea on Saturday (April 30), marking the country's farthest liftoff from shore yet.

Artist's impression of an asteroid and Earth.

China could launch an asteroid deflection test mission in 2025: report

By Elizabeth Howell published

China is planning a kinetic asteroid defense mission no earlier than 2025 as part of a larger set of planetary shielding planning initiatives.

A Chinese Long March 3B rocket launches the Zhongxing 6D communications satellite into orbit from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center on April 15, 2022.

China launched 2 rockets back-to-back just ahead of astronauts' landing

By Tariq Malik last updated

China launched two rockets in six hours Friday during a busy day that also included the successful astronaut landing.

Recovery teams work to retrieve China's Shenzhou 13 astronaut crew after their successful landing near Dongfeng in the Gobi Desert in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on April 16, 2022 Beijing time.

China's Shenzhou 13 capsule lands with crew of 3 after record-setting mission

By Mike Wall last updated

A Shenzhou spacecraft carrying three astronauts landed safely in northern China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region today (April 15), wrapping up the Shenzhou 13 mission.

China's Shenzhou 13 astronauts give thumb's up signs as they prepare to return to Earth from the Tiangong space station core module Tianhe in April 2022. They are (from left): Wang Yaping; commander Zhai Zhigang; and Ye Guangfu.

Watch China's Shenzhou 13 astronauts return to Earth from space station tonight

By Tariq Malik last updated

China's first astronaut crew to spend a record-setting six months aboard the country's new space station returns to Earth tonight and you can watch it live online.

A Chinese Long March 7 rocket launches the Tianzhou 3 automated cargo ship to the country's Tiangong space station module Tianhe on Sept. 20, 2021 from the Wenchang Satellite Launch Center on Hainan Island

China's Long March rocket family: History and photos

By Andrew Jones published

Reference Since 1970, China has launched more than 400 missions, and almost all have used the Long March family of rockets.

Liftoff of a Long March 4C rocket from China's Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center carrying the Gaofen 3 (03) satellite on April 6, 2022.

China launches new ocean surveillance radar satellite (video)

By Andrew Jones published

China launched a new high-resolution remote sensing satellite on Wednesday (April 6) to boost its ability to monitor ocean activity.

A photo of China's Zhurong Mars rover and its lander, both of which are part of the Tianwen 1 mission, captured by a deployed remote camera. China recently established a deep-space exploration laboratory on Earth to support the development of other missions to distant destinations.

China has big plans for its new Tiandu space exploration laboratory

By Andrew Jones published

China has established the Tiandu deep-space exploration laboratory to support the development of the country's growing plans for lunar and planetary missions.