Reach for the stars

China is celebrating its eighth Space Day, which falls on April 24 each year. Over the past decade, the nation has made remarkable achievements in space exploration.

Milestones

Dec 2, 2013

The Chang'e 3 mission begins, with the aim of sending a robotic probe to the moon. After a 12-day flight, the probe lands, becoming the first Chinese spacecraft to achieve the feat and the first craft from any country to achieve the goal in nearly four decades. Yutu, the first Chinese lunar rover, moves onto the lunar soil on Dec 15 and begins operations. It works until July 2016.

Dec 8, 2018

China's fourth lunar probe, Chang'e 4, is launched toward the far side of the moon. After a 26-day journey, the robotic spacecraft lands in the Von Karman crater, beginning humanity's first close observation of the area. The Yutu 2 rover has worked on the moon for nearly 1,600 days and traveled more than 1,500 meters on the lunar soil, making it the longest-working rover ever.

June 5, 2019

A Long March 11 solid-propellant carrier rocket is used for China's first seaborne space launch in its territorial waters. Prior to the mission, the country has conducted more than 310 carrier rocket launches at its four land-based space launch centers. So far, China has conducted five sea-based launches.

July 25, 2019

i-Space, a Beijing startup, becomes the first private enterprise in China to successfully conduct an orbital mission. The company launches its first SQX-1 carrier rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, sending two satellites and three experimental payloads into space. So far, three private Chinese rocket makers have conducted eight successful orbital missions.

July 23, 2020

The Tianwen 1 mission, the nation's first independent interplanetary exploration, is launched from Wenchang. It travels more than 470 million kilometers before entering Mars' orbit in February 2021. Its rover,named Zhurong, touches down on the planet on May 15, 2021, and begins work on the surface a week later.So far, the rover has traveled more than 1,900 meters and obtained a great deal of raw data.

July 31, 2020

The domestically developed Beidou Navigation Satellite System is completed and starts providing full-scale global services. Since 2000,more than 60 Beidou satellites have been launched, and some have been retired. Beidou is now one of the two space-based navigation networks with global coverage — the other being GPS from the United States.

Nov 24, 2020

The Chang'e 5 robotic moon mission is launched from the Wenchang Space Launch Center. After landing on Dec 1, it brings 1,731 grams of lunar rock and soil back to the Earth on Dec 17, about 44 years after the last lunar substances were returned. The 23-day mission makes China the third country to retrieve lunar samples.

April 29, 2021

In-orbit construction of the Tiangong space station begins as the Tianhe core module — the first and central component — is launched. The module has three parts: a connecting section; a life-support-and-control section; and a resources section. The capsule is bigger and heavier than any other Chinese spacecraft launched before it.To date, 12 astronauts have lived in the craft.

Dec 31, 2022

President Xi Jinping announces the completion of the Tiangong space station in his New Year address, marking the realization of a grand aspiration pursued by Chinese scientists and space industry workers for three decades.The station consists of three major components — a core module and two science lab modules — and has an overall weight of nearly 100 metric tons. It is designed to operate for more than 10 years.