China expands space capabilities with new lunar and deep space milestones

China expands space capabilities with new lunar and deep space milestones
by Riko Seibo
Tokyo, Japan (SPX) Oct 21, 2025
China has recorded a series of landmark achievements in its ongoing quest for space exploration, spanning its crewed space station program, lunar far-side sample return, and interplanetary missions. These milestones underscore the nation's growing capabilities in orbital operations, scientific research, and deep space engineering during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025).

The Shenzhou XX crew has now been aboard China's space station for more than five months, performing space science experiments, in-orbit maintenance, and emergency drills. Their work marks another chapter in the rapid evolution of China's human spaceflight program, which completed the construction of the Tiangong space station in record time.

Space Station Operations and Science Achievements

Launched in April 2021, the Tianhe core module was joined by the Wentian and Mengtian laboratory modules in 2022, completing assembly in under two years. Nine astronaut crews, from Shenzhou XII through Shenzhou XX, have since occupied the orbiting complex, carrying out nearly 20 spacewalks to assemble equipment and enhance protection systems.

Tiangong now functions as a national-level orbital laboratory. By the end of 2024, more than 180 scientific projects had been conducted aboard, generating over 300 terabytes of data. Research has included experiments in human biology, microgravity physics, and space materials. Breakthroughs include the cultivation of new rice germplasm in microgravity and the differentiation of human embryonic stem cells into blood progenitor cells in orbit.

In February 2025, China and Pakistan signed an agreement for astronaut selection and training, marking the first step toward participation by international astronauts aboard the Chinese space station. The initiative demonstrates China's openness to global cooperation in crewed space missions.

Historic Sampling from the Moon's Far Side

On June 25, 2024, the Chang'e 6 probe returned 1,935 grams of material collected from the far side of the Moon-the first samples ever obtained from that hemisphere. The mission, which lasted 53 days, employed the Queqiao 2 relay satellite for communication support and executed a complex series of maneuvers involving its lander, ascender, and returner modules.

Following recovery in Inner Mongolia, scientists began analyzing the samples, uncovering new insights into magmatic activity, the lunar mantle's water content, and the evolution of the Moon's internal magnetic field. The Chang'e 6 team was later honored with the International Astronautical Federation's World Space Award.

The mission also carried four international payloads: instruments from France, the European Space Agency, and Italy on the lander, and a small Pakistani satellite aboard the orbiter-furthering China's record of international collaboration in lunar science.

Progress in Deep Space Exploration

China's deep space ambitions advanced with the Tianwen 1 Mars mission, launched in 2020. Its rover Zhurong landed on May 15, 2021, after a 475-million-kilometer voyage. The data gathered by 13 instruments revealed compelling evidence of past oceans and a once-wet climate on Mars.

Tianwen 1 also served as a platform for international cooperation, sharing orbital data with NASA and ESA to improve collision avoidance and conducting joint solar wind studies with ESA's Mars Express. The mission earned the World Space Award in 2022.

On May 29, 2025, China launched the Tianwen 2 probe-the nation's first asteroid sampling and return mission. The spacecraft will visit the near-Earth asteroid 2016 HO3 to collect samples before heading to the main-belt comet 311P, in a mission expected to last about a decade. The results are expected to deepen scientific understanding of the solar system's formation and the properties of small celestial bodies.

Looking ahead to the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030), China plans to launch the Chang'e 7 and Chang'e 8 lunar missions and the Tianwen 3 Mars sample return mission around 2028, further expanding its presence in human and robotic space exploration.