The China National Space Administration (CNSA) is the agency responsible for China's civil space policy and its robotic exploration programs. Established in 1993, it manages the Chang'e lunar missions and the Tianwen planetary missions and represents China in international space cooperation. Shan Zhongde was appointed administrator in January 2025.[1]
China's space effort is distributed across several institutions: CNSA sets policy and runs robotic exploration, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) operates the Tiangong space station and the Shenzhou crew flights, and the state-owned contractor CASC builds most spacecraft and the Long March rocket family. Together they have made China the second most active spacefaring nation, with landmark results in the 2020s that include lunar sample returns from both sides of the Moon, a first-attempt Mars landing, and a permanently crewed station.[2]
Chang'e lunar program
The Chang'e program, named for the Chinese Moon goddess, has advanced in deliberate steps from orbiters to landers to sample returns. Chang'e 4 made the first landing on the lunar far side in January 2019, and Chang'e 5 returned 1,731 grams of near side material in December 2020, China's first sample return. Chang'e 6 repeated the feat where no one had: it landed in the South Pole-Aitken basin on the far side and delivered 1,935.3 grams to Earth on June 25, 2024, the first samples ever collected from the Moon's hidden hemisphere.[2]
| Mission | Year | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Chang'e 4 | 2019 | First soft landing on the lunar far side |
| Chang'e 5 | 2020 | Returned 1,731 g of near side samples |
| Chang'e 6 | 2024 | Returned 1,935.3 g, first far side samples |
| Chang'e 7 | H2 2026 (planned) | South pole orbiter, lander, rover, and hopper |
| Chang'e 8 | ~2028-2029 (planned) | Resource utilization tests for a lunar base |
Chang'e 7 is next. The multi-spacecraft mission arrived at the Wenchang launch site in April 2026 for a planned liftoff on a Long March 5 in the second half of the year. It combines an orbiter, a lander targeting the illuminated rim of Shackleton crater near the lunar south pole, a rover, and a hopping probe designed to fly into permanently shadowed craters in search of water ice.[3] Far side operations depend on the Queqiao relay satellites CNSA stations beyond the Moon; Queqiao-2 launched in March 2024 to support Chang'e 6 and later missions. The program also carries growing international cargo: Chang'e 6 hosted instruments from France, Italy, and Sweden with the European Space Agency, plus a Pakistani cubesat.[2] Chang'e 7 and Chang'e 8 are precursors to the International Lunar Research Station, a base concept China is developing with Roscosmos and other partners for the 2030s.
Tianwen planetary missions
Tianwen-1, launched in 2020, made China the first country to succeed with an orbiter, lander, and rover on its first independent Mars attempt; the Zhurong rover drove on Utopia Planitia from May 2021. Tianwen-2 launched in May 2025 to collect samples from the small near-Earth asteroid Kamo'oalewa, with return to Earth expected around 2027 before the spacecraft continues to comet 311P. Tianwen-3, a Mars sample return campaign targeted for launch around 2028, would attempt to bring Martian rock to Earth in the early 2030s, potentially ahead of any Western equivalent.[2]
Tiangong and human spaceflight
The Tiangong station, assembled in 2021-2022 from the Tianhe, Wentian, and Mengtian modules, hosts rotating three-person crews launched on Shenzhou spacecraft from Jiuquan. China built the station after being excluded from the International Space Station partnership by US law.
The program handled its first major emergency in late 2025. Hours before the Shenzhou 20 crew was due to fly home on November 5, engineers found cracks in a window of their docked capsule, attributed to a suspected debris strike. The crew returned on November 14 aboard the newer Shenzhou 21 spacecraft instead, and an uncrewed Shenzhou 22 was launched on November 25, 2025, six months early, to restore a return vehicle for the station's remaining crew.[4] The damaged Shenzhou 20 was landed empty, carrying only cargo, in January 2026.[5]
Operations have since resumed their rhythm. Shenzhou 23 launched on May 24, 2026, carrying commander Zhu Yangzhu, Zhang Zhiyuan, and Li Jiaying, the first astronaut from Hong Kong; one crew member is slated to stay a full year, a Chinese record, and a Pakistani astronaut is expected to visit on Shenzhou 24 late in 2026.[6]
Long March rockets
Nearly all Chinese government missions fly on Long March rockets, a family in service since 1970 that passed 500 cumulative launches in December 2023. The heavy-lift Long March 5 carries lunar and planetary missions from Wenchang, the Long March 2F flies crews, and newer models such as the Long March 8A serve the country's growing satellite constellations. Reusable variants and commercial rockets from private Chinese firms are in development.[2]
Crewed lunar goal
China has committed to landing astronauts on the Moon before 2030, a timeline that now frames the rivalry with the American Artemis program. The architecture uses two launches of the new Long March 10 rocket, one carrying the Mengzhou crew spacecraft and the other the Lanyue lander, which dock in lunar orbit. Major tests accumulated through 2025: an integrated landing and ascent test of a Lanyue test article in August, and static firings of the Long March 10 first stage at Wenchang in August and September. The rocket's first orbital flight, carrying an uncrewed Mengzhou, is targeted for late 2026, with uncrewed lunar rehearsals to follow before a crewed landing attempt by 2030.[7]
References
- Shan Zhongde Becomes New Head of CNSA - China in Space.
- Chinese Lunar Exploration Program - Wikipedia.
- China's Chang'e-7 arrives at spaceport for lunar south pole exploration mission - SpaceNews.
- China launches Shenzhou 22 spacecraft to assist in return of 3 astronauts stranded on Tiangong space station - PBS News.
- Repaired Shenzhou-20 Returns to Earth Empty - SpacePolicyOnline.com.
- Xinhua Headlines: China launches Shenzhou-23 spaceship, for new in-orbit stay record, cutting-edge space science - Xinhua.
- China targets 2026 for first Long March 10 launch, new lunar crew spacecraft flight - SpaceNews.