China

CMSA (China Manned Space Agency) •

Tiangong (天宫, 'Heavenly Palace') is the People's Republic of China's third-generation crewed orbital station, operated by the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) and developed by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) as the prime contractor under the broader China Manned Space Programme (CMSP, formally Project 921) [1][6]. The station's T-shaped baseline architecture comprises three pressurised modules — the 22.5-tonne Tianhe core module launched April 29, 2021 from Wenchang on a Long March 5B, the Wentian laboratory module launched July 24, 2022, and the Mengtian laboratory module launched October 31, 2022 — combined mass approximately 68-70 tonnes in a ~390 km circular orbit at 41.5° inclination [2][7]. Continuous human presence aboard Tiangong has been maintained since Shenzhou-12 in June 2021, with six-month crew-rotation cadence executed by sequentially numbered Shenzhou crewed missions (Shenzhou-12 through Shenzhou-23 as of June 2026) and resupplied by Tianzhou robotic cargo freighters launched on Long March 7 [3][8][19]. The cadence absorbed its first major contingency in late 2025: a suspected orbital-debris strike cracked a window on the docked Shenzhou-20 return capsule (November 5, 2025), forcing the crew to come home on the fresher Shenzhou-21 spacecraft on November 14 and prompting the uncrewed launch of Shenzhou-22 on November 25, 2025 as a replacement lifeboat [17][18]. Regular rotations resumed with the Shenzhou-23 crew launch on May 24, 2026 [19]. The Xuntian (巡天) co-orbital optical telescope — a 2-metre-aperture, 2.5-billion-pixel survey instrument — is targeted for launch no earlier than 2027 and will fly in formation with Tiangong, periodically docking for servicing [4]. Beijing has publicly signalled a planned expansion to a six-module 'cross' configuration, formally announced by CMSA in October 2023, and has opened crew slots to international partners — Pakistan signed a March 2025 bilateral agreement to send the first foreign astronaut to Tiangong (targeted in the late 2020s window) [5][9]. Programme cost is not officially disclosed; Western analysts (including CSIS ChinaPower and USCC commissioned research) estimate lifecycle cost in the range of $8-11B FY equivalent — roughly an order of magnitude below the ISS partner-cumulative spend [10][11].

CNSA (China National Space Administration) •

Chang'e is the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program (CLEP), administered by the China National Space Administration (CNSA) with mission integration led by CASC's China Academy of Space Technology (CAST) and the science programme directed by the National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (NAOC) [1][5]. The programme is structured in three phases: orbit (Chang'e-1 in 2007 and Chang'e-2 in 2010), land and rove (Chang'e-3 in December 2013 with the Yutu rover — China's first soft lunar landing; Chang'e-4 in January 2019, the first soft landing on the lunar far side at Von Kármán crater, supported by the Queqiao-1 relay satellite at Earth-Moon L2), and return sample (Chang'e-5 in November 2020, which returned 1,731 g of lunar samples from Mons Rümker — the first lunar sample return since Luna 24 in 1976; Chang'e-6 in May-June 2024, the first ever far-side sample return, which retrieved 1,935.3 g of samples from Apollo crater within the South Pole-Aitken basin) [2][6][7][8]. Chang'e-6 sample analysis confirmed in November 2024 that the South Pole-Aitken basin formed approximately 4.25 billion years ago, providing the first ground-truth absolute-age constraint on the lunar far side and the largest impact basin in the Solar System [9]. The programme's fourth phase — directly oriented around the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) and the 2030 crewed lunar landing — comprises Chang'e-7 (NET 2026, polar reconnaissance with orbiter, lander, rover and a mini-hopper to search permanently-shadowed craters for water ice) and Chang'e-8 (NET 2028, in-situ resource utilisation (ISRU) demonstrations including 3D-printed lunar-regolith brick experiments), both targeted at the lunar south pole near the future ILRS site [3][10]. Total programme cost is not officially disclosed; analyst estimates from CSIS and SpaceNews place cumulative Chang'e spend in the low-single-digit billions of USD-equivalent — roughly an order of magnitude below comparable U.S. CLPS + commercial lunar lander spend [11].

CASC (China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation) •

The Long March (Chang Zheng, 长征) family is the People's Republic of China's national-launcher portfolio, developed and produced principally by CASC's two main launch subsidiaries — the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT) in Beijing and the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology (SAST) [1][6]. The current operational fleet covers Long March 2F (Shenzhou crewed flights), Long March 3B (GTO commsats), Long March 4 (sun-synchronous), Long March 5 / 5B (heavy lift to LEO and GTO; the 5B was used for the three Tiangong module launches), Long March 6 (small SSO), Long March 7 (Tianzhou cargo to Tiangong) and Long March 8 (medium SSO with partial reusability under development) [2]. The next-generation roadmap covers three principal new vehicles. The Long March 10 (formerly 'New Generation Crewed Carrier Rocket') is a 3-core kerolox vehicle targeting ~70 t to LEO and ~27 t to TLI, designed specifically to launch the Mengzhou crewed capsule and Lanyue lunar lander for the 2030 crewed lunar landing; CALT-led, maiden flight targeted no earlier than 2027 [3][7]. The Long March 10A is a single-core variant for crewed LEO missions (e.g. Tiangong rotations after the LM-2F retirement) and is targeted to fly in parallel to the 3-core LM-10 [3]. The Long March 9 super-heavy is China's Saturn-V-class architecture targeting ~150 t to LEO; the design has shifted from an expendable 10-metre kerolox vehicle towards a reusable architecture in the 2023-2024 timeframe, with first flight slipping to no earlier than 2030-2033 in CASC's public roadmap [8][9]. The Long March 12 is a 3.8-metre kerolox medium-class vehicle that first flew successfully from Hainan Commercial Spaceport on November 30, 2024 — China's first vehicle designed from the outset for reusable first-stage recovery, with vertical-landing demonstrations planned in the 2025-2026 window [10]. The Long March 8 family, including the partially-reusable Long March 8A, is targeting a launch cadence supporting the Guowang and Qianfan / G60 megaconstellation deployment campaigns (cumulatively ~25,000 satellites announced under the two state-aligned networks) [11].

CNSA (China National Space Administration) •

Tianwen is the People's Republic of China's flagship deep-space exploration series, administered by the China National Space Administration (CNSA) with mission integration led by the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST), launcher development by the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT), and science direction from the National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (NAOC) [1][5]. Tianwen-1 launched on a Long March 5 Y4 from Wenchang on July 23, 2020 and entered Mars orbit on February 10, 2021 — China's first independent interplanetary mission [2]. The orbiter completed mapping, and on May 14, 2021 the Zhurong rover landed in Utopia Planitia (109.9°E, 25.1°N), making China the second nation after the United States to successfully soft-land and operate a rover on Mars [2]. Zhurong operated for 358 sols, traversing 1.921 km before entering an extended sleep cycle in May 2022; the rover did not awaken and was declared mission-complete in 2023, but published ground-penetrating radar and spectroscopic results in Nature and Science contributed first-of-class data on Utopia Planitia subsurface stratigraphy [6]. Tianwen-2 launched on May 29, 2025 on a Long March 3B targeting near-Earth asteroid 469219 Kamoʻoalewa (2016 HO3) for sample return and follow-on rendezvous with main-belt comet 311P/PANSTARRS through ~2035 [7]. The Tianwen-3 Mars sample-return mission, approved in 2022 and re-baselined in early 2024, targets a launch no earlier than 2028 on two Long March 5 boosters (lander + ascender stack and orbiter / Earth-return stack), with sample collection at a TBD landing site, ascent to Mars orbit, automated orbital rendezvous, and Earth return targeted for ~2031 — potentially several years ahead of the NASA / ESA Mars Sample Return architecture, which faced major restructuring after a NASA Independent Review Board report in September 2023 [3][8][9]. Tianwen-4 — a Jupiter system mission with a Uranus flyby — is in the design phase with launch targeted around 2029-2030 [10]. Programme cost is not officially disclosed; CSIS / SpaceNews analyst estimates place Tianwen-1 in the $250-350M-equivalent range and Tianwen-3 likely above $1B-equivalent given two LM-5 launches and the sample-return architecture [11].

CMSA (China Manned Space Agency) •

The Chinese Crewed Lunar Programme is the human-spaceflight extension of the broader Chinese Lunar Exploration Programme (CLEP) and is administered by the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA), with mission integration and spacecraft development led by the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST), launcher development by the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT), and astronaut selection and training by the Astronaut Center of China (ACC) [1][4]. CMSA publicly announced the architecture on July 12, 2023, at a State Council press conference led by Deputy Chief Engineer Zhang Hailian, formalising the 'before 2030' timeline for the first crewed lunar landing and confirming the two-launch mission profile [2][5]. The mission concept calls for two Long March 10 vehicles launched on the same day from Wenchang: one carrying the Mengzhou crew capsule (which separates and trans-lunar injects on its own) and a second carrying the Lanyue lunar lander stack [3]. Following automated lunar-orbital rendezvous and crew transfer from Mengzhou to Lanyue, two taikonauts will descend to the lunar south pole, perform an approximately 6-hour surface expedition, ascend, dock back with Mengzhou, and return to Earth [3]. The Mengzhou capsule is a next-generation crew vehicle developed by CAST that supersedes the Shenzhou architecture; the full-up Mengzhou variant supports 3-7 crew, lunar return reentry at 11 km/s and partial reusability of the return module, and successfully completed pad-abort and high-altitude escape-system tests in mid-2024 [6]. The Lanyue lander is a single-stage architecture combining lunar descent, ascent and 6-hour surface operations; the Wangyu (望宇) lunar spacesuit was unveiled in September 2024 [7][8]. CMSA selected its fourth-batch astronauts (10 taikonauts including the first Hong Kong / Macau payload specialist candidates) in 2024 specifically to support the lunar mission [9]. The first uncrewed Long March 10 test flight is targeted no-earlier-than 2027, with crewed lunar landing no-earlier-than 2030 [10][11]. The Chinese crewed lunar programme directly underpins the crewed phase of the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) post-2035 [12].

CNSA (China National Space Administration) + Roscosmos •

The International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) is a China-led international lunar exploration partnership administered by the China National Space Administration (CNSA) in cooperation with Russia's Roscosmos State Corporation, formally launched through a joint Memorandum of Understanding signed in St. Petersburg on March 9, 2021 by then-CNSA Administrator Zhang Kejian and then-Roscosmos head Dmitry Rogozin [1][6]. The ILRS Cooperation Organisation (ILRSCO) was formally chartered by CNSA in October 2023 as the standing secretariat coordinating multilateral participation, with administrative headquarters in Hefei, Anhui [3]. Membership has expanded progressively across 2023-2025: Pakistan (April 2024), Venezuela (July 2023), Belarus (June 2024), South Africa (September 2023), Senegal (June 2024), Egypt (December 2023), Azerbaijan (November 2023), Nicaragua (January 2024), Thailand (April 2024), Serbia (October 2024), Kazakhstan (November 2024), plus the Asia-Pacific Space Cooperation Organisation (APSCO), the International Lunar Observatory Association (ILOA), and several Chinese / Russian academic institutions — bringing the partner total to 13+ nations and 10+ international organisations as of mid-2025 [2][7][8]. The architecture is structured in three principal phases. Phase I — Reconnaissance (2026-2030) — leverages Chang'e-6 (May-June 2024, far-side sample return, complete), Chang'e-7 (NET 2026, lunar south polar reconnaissance, orbiter + lander + rover + mini-hopper to search permanently-shadowed craters), Chang'e-8 (NET 2028, in-situ resource utilisation demonstrator including 3D-printed regolith brick experiments) on the Chinese side, and Russian Luna-26 (orbiter), Luna-27 (south-polar lander targeted NET 2027) and Luna-28 (sample-return) missions on the Roscosmos side [4][9]. Phase II — Construction (2030-2035) — involves precursor base modules, power, communications and habitation experiments, partly enabled by partner-country payloads [3][4]. Phase III — Utilisation (post-2035) — adds crewed presence via China's separate Chinese Crewed Lunar Programme (LM-10 / Mengzhou / Lanyue infrastructure) and aspirational Russian crewed launches [5][10]. Total programme cost is not officially disclosed; ILRS is positioned by CNSA as a multilateral counterweight to the NASA-led Artemis Accords (67 nations as of May 2026), with target geographic emphasis on global-South and BRICS-aligned partners [11].

CNSA •

Tianwen-2 (天问二号) is the second mission in the China National Space Administration's Tianwen planetary-exploration series, executed by the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST, the 5th Academy of state-owned aerospace prime CASC) with deep-space tracking provided by the Chinese Deep Space Network and science leadership at the National Astronomical Observatories (NAOC) [1][4][6]. The spacecraft launched on a Long March 3B (Y110) from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center on May 29, 2025 at 17:31 UTC and successfully entered an Earth-leading heliocentric trajectory [2][3]. The primary science target — 469219 Kamoʻoalewa (provisional designation 2016 HO3) — is a 40-100 m near-Earth quasi-satellite of Earth that several spectroscopic studies have identified as a candidate lunar-origin object, making it a uniquely valuable in-situ sampling target [5][8]. Tianwen-2 plans to rendezvous with Kamoʻoalewa in mid-2026, perform a multi-month characterisation campaign, and then attempt two sampling modes — a 'touch-and-go' (TAG) regolith collection similar to OSIRIS-REx and a contingency 'anchor-and-attach' technique using deployable harpoon anchors — with a combined sample-mass target of at least 100 grams [1][3][6]. The sample-return capsule separates and re-enters at Dorbod Banner, Inner Mongolia in late 2027, completing the first leg of the mission [3]. Following sample release, the main spacecraft performs an Earth gravity-assist and embarks on a six-to-seven-year cruise to active main-belt comet 311P/PANSTARRS (a quasi-asteroidal body that exhibits cometary tails, discovered by Pan-STARRS in 2013) for a 2034-2035 rendezvous and remote-sensing campaign [1][7]. Tianwen-2 carries 11 scientific instruments including a wide-angle and narrow-angle imager, visible / near-infrared / thermal imaging spectrometers, a multi-band radar, a magnetometer, a charged-particle and dust analyser, and the sample-collection mechanism itself [1][6]. The mission is a strategic stepping stone toward the announced Tianwen-3 (Mars sample return, NET 2028) and the planned Tianwen-4 Jupiter system mission [9].

CNSA •

Chang'e 7 (嫦娥七号) is the seventh mission in CNSA's Chang'e lunar exploration series and the first phase of the ILRS precursor campaign, executed by the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST, 5th Academy of CASC) with lunar-surface science leadership at the National Astronomical Observatories (NAOC) and the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program (CLEP) office [1][2][6]. The mission targets a 2026 launch on a Long March 5 from Wenchang Space Launch Site and combines five flight elements: a lunar relay orbiter operating around the Earth-Moon L2 halo (carrying forward the heritage of the Queqiao-2 relay), a polar-orbiting science satellite, a lander, a rover and — uniquely — a 'mini flying detector' (跃飞机器人) capable of hopping into permanently shadowed regions (PSRs) of polar craters to confirm in-situ water-ice signatures [1][3]. The flying detector represents a world first for civil lunar exploration: a tethered or jet-propelled hopper able to ingress and egress shadowed craters that no rover has ever entered [3]. The mission is the explicit scientific precursor to the China Manned Lunar Program (CMLP), which targets a first crewed landing by 2030 using the planned Long March 10 launcher and the Lanyue lunar lander [9]. Chang'e 7 carries 21 scientific instruments across its five vehicles, including a wide-field imaging spectrometer, a near-infrared spectrometer for hydroxyl mapping, ground-penetrating radar, and a seismometer suite [2][6]. International payload contributions confirmed under the ILRS framework include Egypt's Space Agency hyperspectral imager, Pakistan's ICUBE-Q CubeSat, Bahrain's lunar surface camera, Italian-Swiss laser-retroreflector arrays, a Russian neutron-and-gamma-ray spectrometer (HEND-2), and a Thai cosmic-ray detector [4][5]. Chang'e 8 (2028 NET) will follow with an in-situ resource utilisation (ISRU) and 3D-printing demonstration co-located near the Chang'e 7 site, and the two missions together establish the operational footprint for the ILRS basic configuration by ~2035 [9][10].

CNSA / CMS • 2021–2030s

China's permanently crewed modular space station completed assembly in 2022. Consists of Tianhe core module, Wentian and Mengtian lab modules. Continuous 3-person crew rotation with Shenzhou spacecraft. Conducting hundreds of science experiments. Planning expansion to 6-module configuration by 2030. Will be the only operational large space station after ISS retirement.

CNSA • 2007–2030s

China's systematic lunar exploration program. Chang'e 5 returned 1.73 kg of lunar samples in 2020 — first sample return since 1976. Chang'e 6 made history in Jun 2024 by returning the first-ever samples from the Moon's far side (South Pole-Aitken Basin). Chang'e 7 and 8 are planned to survey the south pole and test in-situ resource utilization for a future International Lunar Research Station (ILRS).

CNSA / CASC • 2020–2030

China's development of new-generation launch vehicles. The Long March 10 (crew-rated, 70t to LEO) will support crewed lunar missions. The Long March 9 (super heavy-lift, 150t to LEO) rivals Starship/SLS for deep space. China is also developing commercial reusable rockets — multiple private companies (LandSpace, iSpace, Deep Blue Aerospace) testing vertical landing.

CNSA • 2020–2030s

China's Mars exploration program. Tianwen-1 arrived at Mars in Feb 2021, deploying the Zhurong rover in Utopia Planitia — making China the second country to operate a rover on Mars. Zhurong traveled 1.9 km over 347 sols before entering hibernation in May 2022 due to dust accumulation; contact has not been re-established. Tianwen-2 (asteroid sample return) is a separate but related deep space mission. Tianwen-3 is China's planned Mars sample return mission targeting 2028–2030, which could return Martian soil to Earth before NASA's MSR.

CMSA / CASC • 2023–2030

China's program to land astronauts on the Moon by approximately 2030. Uses the new Long March 10 crew-rated rocket (two launches per mission) and the Mengzhou crew capsule with a dedicated Lanyue lunar lander. The architecture requires two LM-10 launches — one carrying the crew in Mengzhou and one carrying the Lanyue lander — that rendezvous in lunar orbit. China selected its 4th batch of astronauts in 2024 including payload specialists and engineers. If successful, China becomes the second nation to land humans on the Moon.

CNSA • 2025–2030

China's first asteroid sample return mission targeting near-Earth asteroid 469219 Kamo'oalewa (2016 HO3), a quasi-satellite of Earth that may be a fragment of the Moon. Will collect surface samples and return them to Earth, then continue to flyby a main-belt comet. If successful, China joins Japan and the US as the only nations to return asteroid samples.

CNSA • 2026–2027

Complex multi-vehicle mission to explore the Moon's south pole region. Includes an orbiter, lander, rover, and a mini-flying probe that will hop into permanently shadowed craters to search for water ice. Key precursor to China's planned International Lunar Research Station (ILRS). Will provide the most detailed data yet on south polar ice deposits.