21 July 2022
On 24 July, China will launch the second of three modules to its space station, with the rocket taking off from Hainan Island, located southwest of Hong Kong, at around 2pm local time
7 October 2021
Lunar samples brought back to Earth by the Chang’e 5 spacecraft seem to be less than 2 billion years old, meaning the moon had volcanic activity more recently than researchers expected
16 June 2021
The first module of the Chinese Space Station launched in April, and on 17 June it will receive its first visitors: three astronauts who will stay there for three months
14 May 2021
China’s first Mars rover, known as Zhurong, is expected to land on the planet’s surface on 14 May, making China the third country ever to land a rover on Mars
5 May 2021
On 29 April, China launched the first module of its biggest space station yet atop a Long March 5B rocket. Now, part of that rocket is hurtling back towards Earth, and there is no way to predict exactly where or when it will land
27 April 2021
China is about to launch the first section of a new space station, beginning a massive orbital construction project that is expected to end in 2022 with an outpost about a quarter of the size of the International Space Station
10 February 2021
The Tianwen-1 mission, China’s first independent interplanetary mission, has reached orbit around Mars and is now preparing to drop its rover to the surface
30 December 2020
February 2021 will see three missions arriving at Mars: the Hope orbiter from the United Arab Emirates, the Chinese Tianwen-1 mission and NASA's Perseverance rover
16 December 2020
The Chang’e 5 spacecraft, which spent just two days on the moon, has returned its lunar samples to Earth – the first moon rocks brought back in 44 years
3 December 2020
The Chinese Chang’e 5 mission has spent two days digging on the moon and is now ready to bring back samples of lunar soil and rocks for analysis
