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	China's Mars program started in partnership with ]. In November 2011, the Russian spacecraft ], destined for Mars and ], was launched from ]. The Russian spacecraft carried with it an attached secondary spacecraft, the ], which was intended to become China's first Mars orbiter (] also carried experiments from ] and ]). However, ]'s main propulsion unit failed to boost the Mars-bound stack from its initial Earth parking orbit and the combined multinational spacecraft and experiments eventually reentered Earth's atmosphere in January 2012<ref name=RIANovostifalls>{{cite news\|last=Zolotukhin\|first=Alexei\|title=Russian Phobos-Grunt Mars probe falls in Pacific Ocean \|url=http://en.rian.ru/world/20120115/170769403.html\|access-date=16 January 2012\|agency=RIA Novosti\|date=15 January 2012\|quote=Phobos-Grunt fragments have crashed down in the Pacific Ocean}}</ref>. China subsequently began an independent Mars project<ref>{{cite news\|last=Nan\|first=Wu\|url=http://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1539568/next-stop-mars-china-aims-send-rover-red-planet-within-six-years\|title=Next stop – Mars: China aims to send rover to Red Planet within six years\|work=]\|date=24 June 2014\|access-date=2016-02-23}}</ref> and the current mission, which was formally approved by Chinese authorities in early 2016<ref name="IEEE2019article">{{cite news\|last=Jones\|first=Andrew\|url=https://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/aerospace/robotic-exploration/china-says-its-mars-landing-technology-is-ready-for-2020\|title=China Says Its Mars Landing Technology Is Ready For 2020\|work=IEEE Spectrum\|date=8 November 2019\|access-date=30 December 2019}}</ref>, is the result.{{Cn~~\|date=December 2020~~}}		China's Mars program started in partnership with ]. In November 2011, the Russian spacecraft ], destined for Mars and ], was launched from ]. The Russian spacecraft carried with it an attached secondary spacecraft, the ], which was intended to become China's first Mars orbiter (] also carried experiments from ] and ]). However, ]'s main propulsion unit failed to boost the Mars-bound stack from its initial Earth parking orbit and the combined multinational spacecraft and experiments eventually reentered Earth's atmosphere in January 2012<ref name=RIANovostifalls>{{cite news\|last=Zolotukhin\|first=Alexei\|title=Russian Phobos-Grunt Mars probe falls in Pacific Ocean \|url=http://en.rian.ru/world/20120115/170769403.html\|access-date=16 January 2012\|agency=RIA Novosti\|date=15 January 2012\|quote=Phobos-Grunt fragments have crashed down in the Pacific Ocean}}</ref>. China subsequently began an independent Mars project<ref>{{cite news\|last=Nan\|first=Wu\|url=http://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1539568/next-stop-mars-china-aims-send-rover-red-planet-within-six-years\|title=Next stop – Mars: China aims to send rover to Red Planet within six years\|work=]\|date=24 June 2014\|access-date=2016-02-23}}</ref> and the current mission, which was formally approved by Chinese authorities in early 2016<ref name="IEEE2019article">{{cite news\|last=Jones\|first=Andrew\|url=https://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/aerospace/robotic-exploration/china-says-its-mars-landing-technology-is-ready-for-2020\|title=China Says Its Mars Landing Technology Is Ready For 2020\|work=IEEE Spectrum\|date=8 November 2019\|access-date=30 December 2019}}</ref>, is the result.{{Cn}}

	The new Chinese Mars spacecraft, consisting of an orbiter and a lander with an attached rover, is developed by the ] (CASC) and managed by the National Space Science Centre (NSSC) in ].<ref name="Jones 2015"/> The lander portion of the spacecraft will use a parachute and a retrorocket in order to achieve landing on the Martian surface.<ref name="GB Times">{{cite news\|last=Jones\|first=Andrew\|url=https://gbtimes.com/china-reveals-more-details-its-2020-mars-mission\|title=China reveals more details of its 2020 Mars mission\|work=GB Times\|date=21 March 2016\|access-date=2016-03-22}}</ref> If the landing is successful, the lander would then release a rover. This rover will be powered by ] and is expected to probe the Martian surface with radar and to perform chemical analyses on the ]; it would also look for ] and ].<ref name="Xinhua 03212016"/>		The new Chinese Mars spacecraft, consisting of an orbiter and a lander with an attached rover, is developed by the ] (CASC) and managed by the National Space Science Centre (NSSC) in ].<ref name="Jones 2015"/> The lander portion of the spacecraft will use a parachute and a retrorocket in order to achieve landing on the Martian surface.<ref name="GB Times">{{cite news\|last=Jones\|first=Andrew\|url=https://gbtimes.com/china-reveals-more-details-its-2020-mars-mission\|title=China reveals more details of its 2020 Mars mission\|work=GB Times\|date=21 March 2016\|access-date=2016-03-22}}</ref> If the landing is successful, the lander would then release a rover. This rover will be powered by ] and is expected to probe the Martian surface with radar and to perform chemical analyses on the ]; it would also look for ] and ].<ref name="Xinhua 03212016"/>

	The TW-1 Deployable Camera (T.D.C.) deployed from the orbiter in September while en route to Mars. Its mission was to photograph the Tianwen-1 orbiter and aeroshell. It took two photos, the T.D.C. spacecraft will fly by Mars.{{Cn~~\|date=December 2020~~}}		The TW-1 Deployable Camera (T.D.C.) deployed from the orbiter in September while en route to Mars. Its mission was to photograph the Tianwen-1 orbiter and aeroshell. It took two photos, the T.D.C. spacecraft will fly by Mars.{{Cn}}

	== Scientific objectives ==		== Scientific objectives ==
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	;Orbiter		;Orbiter
	* Medium Resolution Camera (MRC) with a resolution of 100 m from a 400 km orbit<ref name="Jones20180209"/>		* Medium Resolution Camera (MRC) with a resolution of 100 m from a 400 km orbit<ref name="Jones20180209"/>
	* High Resolution Camera (HRC) with a resolution of 2 m from a 400 km orbit{{Cn~~\|date=December 2020~~}}		* High Resolution Camera (HRC) with a resolution of 2 m from a 400 km orbit{{Cn}}
	* Mars ] (MM){{Cn~~\|date=December 2020~~}}		* Mars ] (MM){{Cn}}
	* Mars Mineralogy ] (MMS), to determine elementary composition{{Cn~~\|date=December 2020~~}}		* Mars Mineralogy ] (MMS), to determine elementary composition{{Cn}}
	* Orbiter Subsurface Radar (OSR){{Cn~~\|date=December 2020~~}}		* Orbiter Subsurface Radar (OSR){{Cn}}
	* Mars Ion and Neutral Particle Analyzer (MINPA)<ref name="spaceflightfans.cn"> Published in 2018.</ref>		* Mars Ion and Neutral Particle Analyzer (MINPA)<ref name="spaceflightfans.cn"> Published in 2018.</ref>
	* Mars Energetic Particle Analyzer <ref name="SFN20200723">{{cite web\|url=https://spaceflightnow.com/2020/07/23/china-launches-robotic-mission-to-orbit-land-and-drive-on-mars/\|title=China launches robotic mission to orbit, land, and drive on Mars\|publisher=Spaceflight Now\|date=23 July 2020\|access-date=24 July 2020}}</ref>		* Mars Energetic Particle Analyzer <ref name="SFN20200723">{{cite web\|url=https://spaceflightnow.com/2020/07/23/china-launches-robotic-mission-to-orbit-land-and-drive-on-mars/\|title=China launches robotic mission to orbit, land, and drive on Mars\|publisher=Spaceflight Now\|date=23 July 2020\|access-date=24 July 2020}}</ref>
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	;Rover<ref></ref>		;Rover<ref></ref>
	* ] (GPR), to image about {{convert\|100\|m}} below the Martian surface<ref name='Radar 2016'>. B. Zhou, S. X. Shen, Y. C. Ji, etal. 2016 16th International Conference on Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR). 13–16 June 2016.</ref>		* ] (GPR), to image about {{convert\|100\|m}} below the Martian surface<ref name='Radar 2016'>. B. Zhou, S. X. Shen, Y. C. Ji, etal. 2016 16th International Conference on Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR). 13–16 June 2016.</ref>
	* Mars Surface Magnetic Field Detector (MSMFD){{Cn~~\|date=December 2020~~}}		* Mars Surface Magnetic Field Detector (MSMFD){{Cn}}
	* Mars Meteorological Measurement Instrument (MMMI){{Cn~~\|date=December 2020~~}}		* Mars Meteorological Measurement Instrument (MMMI){{Cn}}
	* Mars Surface Compound Detector (MSCD){{Cn~~\|date=December 2020~~}}		* Mars Surface Compound Detector (MSCD){{Cn}}
	* Multi-Spectrum Camera (MSC){{Cn~~\|date=December 2020~~}}		* Multi-Spectrum Camera (MSC){{Cn}}
	* Navigation and Topography Camera (NTC)<ref name="spaceflightfans.cn"/>		* Navigation and Topography Camera (NTC)<ref name="spaceflightfans.cn"/>

Revision as of 22:48, 11 December 2020

Interplanetary mission by China to place an orbiter, lander and rover on Mars

*Tianwen-1*
Spacecraft properties
Tianwen-1 undergoing tests in 2019. The silver capsule on top houses the lander and rover, and the gold bottom half with the rocket engine is the orbiter.
Names	Huoxing-1 (火星-1) (2018–2020)

Mission type	Planetary science with an orbiter, lander and rover
Operator	CNSA
COSPAR ID	2020-049A
SATCAT no.	45935
Mission duration	1631 days, 12 hours, 42 minutes (since launch) Orbiter: 2 Earth years (planned) Rover: 90 sols (planned)


Spacecraft type	Orbiter, lander, rover
Manufacturer	China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC)
Launch mass	Total: 5,000 kg (11,000 lb) Orbiter: 3,175 kg (7,000 lb) Rover：240 kg (530 lb)
Dimensions	Rover: 2.0 × 1.65 × 1.85 metres


Start of mission
Launch date	23 July 2020, 04:41:15 UTC
Rocket	Long March 5
Launch site	Wenchang, LC-101
Contractor	China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation
Mars orbiter
Spacecraft component	Orbiter
Orbital insertion	11 to 24 February 2021 (planned)
Mars lander
Spacecraft component	Lander
Landing date	23 April 2021 (proposed)
Landing site	Utopia Planitia
Mars rover
Spacecraft component	Rover
Landing date	After 23 April 2021 (proposed)
Landing site	Utopia Planitia


Chinese Planetary Exploration (Chinese: 中国行星探测) Mars logo

Tianwen-1 (TW-1) is an interplanetary mission to Mars by the China National Space Administration (CNSA) to send a robotic spacecraft, which consists of an orbiter, deployable camera, lander and a rover. The mission was successfully launched from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site on 23 July 2020 with a Long March 5 heavy-lift rocket, and is currently en route to Mars, having already traveled 29.4 million kilometers as of 9 October, 2020. Tianwen has so far completed two mid-course orbital corrections and performed self diagnostics on multiple payloads. The spacecraft has begun to conduct scientific operations with the Mars Energetic Particle Analyzer, mounted on the orbiter, which has already transmitted data back to ground control. Its objectives are to search for evidence of both current and past life, and to assess the planet's environment.

The name "Tianwen" (simplified Chinese: 天问; traditional Chinese: 天問; lit. 'heavenly questions') comes from the long poem of the same name written by Qu Yuan (about 340–278 BC), one of the greatest poets of Ancient China. It is a poem of a series of questions starting with how the universe was created.

Tianwen-1 was the second of three space missions sent toward Mars during the July 2020 Mars launch window, with missions also launched by the national space agencies of the United Arab Emirates (Hope orbiter) and the United States (Mars 2020, with the Perseverance rover and an attached helicopter drone). All three are expected to arrive at Mars in February 2021.

In September, Tianwen-1 deployed the TW-1 Deployable Camera (T.D.C.), a small satellite with two cameras that took photos of and tested a Wi-Fi connection with Tianwen-1.

Overview

China's Mars program started in partnership with Russia. In November 2011, the Russian spacecraft Fobos-Grunt, destined for Mars and Phobos, was launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome. The Russian spacecraft carried with it an attached secondary spacecraft, the Yinghuo-1, which was intended to become China's first Mars orbiter (Fobos-Grunt also carried experiments from The Planetary Society and Bulgaria). However, Fobos-Grunt's main propulsion unit failed to boost the Mars-bound stack from its initial Earth parking orbit and the combined multinational spacecraft and experiments eventually reentered Earth's atmosphere in January 2012. China subsequently began an independent Mars project and the current mission, which was formally approved by Chinese authorities in early 2016, is the result.

The new Chinese Mars spacecraft, consisting of an orbiter and a lander with an attached rover, is developed by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) and managed by the National Space Science Centre (NSSC) in Beijing. The lander portion of the spacecraft will use a parachute and a retrorocket in order to achieve landing on the Martian surface. If the landing is successful, the lander would then release a rover. This rover will be powered by solar panels and is expected to probe the Martian surface with radar and to perform chemical analyses on the soil; it would also look for biomolecules and biosignatures.

The TW-1 Deployable Camera (T.D.C.) deployed from the orbiter in September while en route to Mars. Its mission was to photograph the Tianwen-1 orbiter and aeroshell. It took two photos, the T.D.C. spacecraft will fly by Mars.

Scientific objectives

The aims of the mission may include the following: find evidence for current and past life, produce Martian surface maps, characterize Martian soil composition and water ice distribution, examine the Martian atmosphere, and in particular, its ionosphere, among others. Simulated Martian landings have been performed as part of mission preparations by the Beijing Institute of Space Mechanics and Electricity.

The current Mars mission also would serve as a demonstration of technology that will be needed for an anticipated Chinese Mars sample-return mission proposed for the 2030s. There was also a plan that involved using the current mission to cache Martian rock and soil samples for retrieval by the later sample-return mission.

Mission planning

In late 2019, the Xi'an Aerospace Propulsion Institute, a subsidiary of CASC, stated that the performance and control of the future spacecraft's propulsion system has been verified and had passed all requisite pre-flight tests, including tests for hovering, hazard avoidance, deceleration, and landing. The main component of the lander's propulsion system consists of a single engine that provides 7500 newtons of thrust. The spacecraft's supersonic parachute system had also been successfully tested previously.

CNSA initially focused on the Chryse Planitia and on the Elysium Mons regions of Mars in its search for possible landing sites for the lander and its associated rover. However, in September 2019, during a joint meeting in Geneva of the European Planetary Science Congress-Division for Planetary Sciences, Chinese presenters announced that two preliminary sites in the Utopia Planitia region of Mars have instead been chosen for the anticipated landing attempt, with each site having a landing ellipse of approximately 100 by 40 kilometres.

In July 2020, CNSA provided landing coordinates of 110.318 degrees east longitude and 24.748 degrees north latitude, within the southern portion of Utopia Planitia as the specific primary landing site. The area appears to provide a relatively safe place for a landing attempt but is also of great scientific interest, according to Alfred McEwen, director of the Planetary Image Research Laboratory at the University of Arizona.

By 23 January 2020 the Long March 5 Y4 rocket's hydrogen-oxygen engine had completed a 100-seconds test, which was the last engine test prior to the final assembly of the carrier rocket. It successfully launched on 23 July 2020.

Scientific instruments

To achieve the scientific objectives of the mission, the Tianwen-1 orbiter and rover are equipped with 13 instruments:

Orbiter

Medium Resolution Camera (MRC) with a resolution of 100 m from a 400 km orbit
High Resolution Camera (HRC) with a resolution of 2 m from a 400 km orbit
Mars Magnetometer (MM)
Mars Mineralogy Spectrometer (MMS), to determine elementary composition
Orbiter Subsurface Radar (OSR)
Mars Ion and Neutral Particle Analyzer (MINPA)
Mars Energetic Particle Analyzer

Rover

Ground-Penetrating Radar (GPR), to image about 100 metres (330 ft) below the Martian surface
Mars Surface Magnetic Field Detector (MSMFD)
Mars Meteorological Measurement Instrument (MMMI)
Mars Surface Compound Detector (MSCD)
Multi-Spectrum Camera (MSC)
Navigation and Topography Camera (NTC)

International collaborations

Lander

Argentina's CONAE is collaborating on Tianwen-1 by way of a Chinese-run tracking station installed in Las Lajas, Neuquén. The facility played a previous role in China's landing of the Chang'e-4 spacecraft on the far side of the moon in January 2019.

France's Institute for Research in Astrophysics and Planetology (IRAP) in Toulouse is collaborating on the Tianwen-1 rover. Sylvestre Maurice of IRAP said, "For their Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) instrument, we have delivered a calibration target that is a French duplicate of a target which is on NASA's Curiosity Mars rover. The idea is to see how the two datasets compare."

Austria's Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG) aided in the development of a magnetometer installed on the Chinese Mars orbiter. The Space Research Institute of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Graz has confirmed the group's contribution to the Tianwen-1 magnetometer and helped with the calibration of the flight instrument.

Beagle 2

Curiosity

InSight

Opportunity

Phoenix

Sojourner

Spirit

Zhurong

Viking 1

Viking 2

References

"中国火星探测器露真容明年发射". 12 October 2019.
The Global Exploration Roadmap. NASA International Space Exploration Coordination Group. January 2018 This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
China's Deep Space Exploration Roadmap. 2018.
^ "China Exclusive: China's aim to explore Mars". Xinhua News. 21 March 2016. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
Wall, Mike. "China launches ambitious Tianwen-1 Mars rover mission". Space.com.
^ 2020中国火星探测计划（根据叶院士报告整理 Published in 2018.
^ Andrew Jones 28 October 2020. "China chooses landing site for its Tianwen-1 Mars rover". Space.com. Retrieved 16 November 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^ Jones, Andrew (9 February 2018). "China simulates Mars landing in preparation for 2020 mission". GBTimes. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
Jones, Andrew (23 July 2020). "Tianwen-1 launches for Mars, marking dawn of Chinese interplanetary exploration". spacenews.com. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
"China's Mars probe completes deep-space maneuver - Xinhua | English.news.cn". www.xinhuanet.com. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
^ Jones, Andrew (22 February 2016). "China is racing to make the 2020 launch window to Mars". GBTimes. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
^ The subsurface penetrating radar on the rover of China's Mars 2020 mission. B. Zhou, S. X. Shen, Y. C. Ji, etal. 2016 16th International Conference on Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR). 13–16 June 2016.
"China's First Mars Exploration Mission Named Tianwen-1". XinhuaNet. 24 April 2020. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
"Send blessings to the sky, and the full moon welcomes the birthday——Tianwen No.1 blessed the 71st birthday of the motherland with a "selfie flag"".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
Zolotukhin, Alexei (15 January 2012). "Russian Phobos-Grunt Mars probe falls in Pacific Ocean". RIA Novosti. Retrieved 16 January 2012. Phobos-Grunt fragments have crashed down in the Pacific Ocean
Nan, Wu (24 June 2014). "Next stop – Mars: China aims to send rover to Red Planet within six years". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
^ Jones, Andrew (8 November 2019). "China Says Its Mars Landing Technology Is Ready For 2020". IEEE Spectrum. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
Jones, Andrew (21 March 2016). "China reveals more details of its 2020 Mars mission". GB Times. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
Zhou; et al. (13–16 June 2016). "The subsurface penetrating radar on the rover of China's Mars 2020 mission". 2016 16th International Conference on Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR). pp. 1–4. doi:10.1109/ICGPR.2016.7572700. ISBN 978-1-5090-5181-6. S2CID 306903.
China Plans To Land A Rover On Mars In 2020. Alexandra Lozovschi, Inquisitr. January 17, 2019.
Tianwen-1 launch
^ "China launches robotic mission to orbit, land, and drive on Mars". Spaceflight Now. 23 July 2020. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
Tianwen-1 Mars Rover and Lander
^ David, Leonard (22 July 2020). "China's Tianwen-1 Mars rover mission gets a boost from international partners". Space.com. Retrieved 10 September 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)

Spacecraft missions to Mars

Active

Flybys	Psyche (2023, flyby in 2026) Hera (2024, flyby in 2025) Europa Clipper (2024, flyby in 2025)
Orbiters	2001 Mars Odyssey Mars Express Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter timeline MAVEN ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter Hope Tianwen-1 orbiter
Rovers	Curiosity Mars Science Laboratory timeline Perseverance Mars 2020 timeline

Past

Flybys	Mars 1 Mariner 4 Zond 2 Mariner 6 and 7 Mars 6 Mars 7 Rosetta Dawn Mars Cube One
Orbiters	Mars 2 Mars 3 Mariner 9 Mars 4 Mars 5 Viking program Viking 1 Viking 2 Phobos program Phobos 1 Phobos 2 Mars Observer Mars Global Surveyor Nozomi Mars Climate Orbiter Mangalyaan
Landers	Mars 2 Mars 3 Mars 6 Mars 7 Viking 1 Viking 2 Mars Pathfinder Mars Polar Lander / Deep Space 2 Beagle 2 Phoenix ExoMars Schiaparelli InSight Tianwen-1 lander
Rovers	PrOP-M Sojourner Mars Exploration Rover Spirit timeline Opportunity timeline Zhurong
Aircraft	Ingenuity helicopter flights Mars 2020

Failed launches	Mars 1M No.1 1M No.2 2MV-4 No.1 2MV-3 No.1 Mariner 3 Mars 2M No.521 2M No.522 Mariner 8 Mars 3MS No.170 Mars 96 Fobos-Grunt / Yinghuo-1

Future

Planned	EscaPADE (2025) Tera-hertz Explorer (TEREX) (mid 2020s) Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) (2026) Mangalyaan-2 (2026) Tianwen-3 (2028) Rosalind Franklin (2028) MBR Explorer (2028, flyby in 2031) NASA-ESA Mars Sample Return Mars Sample Recovery Helicopters Kazachok
Proposed	MAGGIE SpaceX Mars program Mars-Grunt

Cancelled
or not developed

Exploration

Concepts	Flyby Orbiter Landing Atmospheric entry Rover Aircraft Sample return Human mission Permanent settlement Colonization Terraforming
Strategies	Mars Scout Program Mars Exploration Program Mars Exploration Joint Initiative Mars Next Generation
Advocacy	The Mars Project The Case for Mars Inspiration Mars Mars Institute Mars Society Mars race

Missions are ordered by launch date. Sign indicates failure en route or before intended mission data returned. indicates use of the planet as a gravity assist en route to another destination.

v t e Chinese spacecraft
Earth observation	Double Star (joint with ESA) Fengyun Gaofen FSW Huanjing HY Jilin Shiyan SMMS TanSat Tansuo Tianhui Yaogan Ziyuan
Communication and engineering	Dong Fang Hong FH-1 Apstar APMT Asiasat ChinaSat ChinaStar HKSTG LGSP OlympicSat Qianfan Shijian Sinosat Tiantong 1 Tsinghua-1 Xiwang 1
Data relay satellite system	Queqiao and Queqiao 2 Tiandu 1 and 2 Tianlian Constellation
Satellite navigation system	BeiDou-1 BeiDou-2 Beidou-3
Astronomical observation	ASO-S CHASE DAMPE GECAM HXMT Kuafu Longjiang-2 Queqiao Lobster Eye Imager for Astronomy Einstein Probe (joint with ESA) SST SVOM Xuntian SMILE
Lunar exploration	Chinese Lunar Exploration Program Chang'e 1 Chang'e 2 Chang'e 3 Yutu Chang'e 5-T1 Chang'e 4 Yutu-2 Chang'e 5 Chang'e 6 Chang'e 7 Chang'e 8
Planetary exploration	Yinghuo-1 Chang'e 2 Tianwen-1 Zhurong Shensuo Tianwen-2 Tianwen-3 Tianwen-4
Microsatellites	Fengniao Xinyan
Future spacecraft in italics.

Chinese space program

Spaceports and landing sites	Jiuquan Taiyuan Wenchang Xichang Siziwang Banner (landing site)
Launch vehicles	Long March 1 Long March 2 Long March 3 Long March 3A Long March 3B Long March 3C Long March 4 Long March 4A Long March 4B Long March 4C Long March 5 Long March 6 Long March 7 Long March 8 Long March 9 (In development) Long March 10 (In development) Long March 11 Long March 12 Kuaizhou Kaituozhe
Exploration programs	Shuguang (cancelled) CMS (human spaceflight) Chang'e (lunar exploration) Tiangong (space station) Tianwen (interplanetary exploration)

Projects and missions

Science

Planetary science	Chang'e 1 (2007–09) Chang'e 2 (2010–present) Yinghuo 1† (2011) Chang'e 3 (2013–present) Chang'e 5-T1 (2014–present) Yutu rover (2013–2016) Chang'e 4 (2018–present) Yutu-2 rover (2018–present) Tianwen-1 (2020–present) Chang'e 5 (2020–present) Zhurong rover (2021–present) Chang'e 6 (2024) Tianwen-2 (2025) Chang'e 7 (2026) Chang'e 8 (2028) Tianwen-3 (2028) Tianwen-4 (2029)
Astronomy and cosmology	DAMPE (2015–present) HXMT (2017–present) GECAM (2020–present) CHASE (2021–present) ASO-S (2022–present) Einstein Probe (2024–present) SVOM (2024–present) Xuntian (2026) Space Solar Telescope
Earth observation	CSES (2018–present) Double Star (2003–07) Gaofen Series (2013–present) Haiyang Series (2002–present) TanSat (2016–present) Yaogan Series (2006–present) Ziyuan Series (CBERS) (1999–present) SMILE (2025)

Human
spaceflight

Uncrewed expeditions	Shenzhou 1 Shenzhou 2 Shenzhou 3 Shenzhou 4 Shenzhou 8
Crewed expeditions	Shenzhou 5 Shenzhou 6 Shenzhou 7 Shenzhou 9 Shenzhou 10 Shenzhou 11 Shenzhou 12 Shenzhou 13 Shenzhou 14 Shenzhou 15 Shenzhou 16 Shenzhou 17 Shenzhou 18 (List of Chinese astronauts)
Space laboratories and cargos	Tiangong 1 (2011–2018) Tiangong 2 (2016–2019) Tianzhou 1 (2017) Tianzhou 2 (2021) Tianzhou 3 (2021) Tianzhou 4 (2022) Tianzhou 5 (2022) Tianzhou 6 (2023)
Tiangong space station modules	Tianhe (2021–present) Wentian (2022–present) Mengtian (2022–present)

Navigation

BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS)

Telecommunications

Apstar Series (1994–present)
Chinasat Series (1994–present)
Queqiao (2018–present)
Tiandu 1 and 2 (2024–present)
Tianlian I (2008–present)
Tianlian II (2019–present)
Qianfan (2024–present)
Queqiao 2 (2024–present)

Technology
demonstrators

Chinese reusable experimental spacecraft (2020)
FSW Program (1969–2006)
QUESS (2016–present)
Shijian Series (1971–present)
XPNAV 1 (2016–present)

Lanyue Lunar Lander

Future missions marked in italics. Failed missions marked with † sign

Astrobiology

Disciplines

Main topics

Planetary
habitability

Space
missions

Earth orbit	BIO BIOCORE Biolab Bion BIOPAN Biosatellite program E-MIST ERA Eu:CROPIS EXOSTACK EXPOSE Lunar Micro Ecosystem O/OREOS OREOcube Tanpopo VEGGIE
Mars	Beagle 2 Fobos-Grunt Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover Mars 2020 Perseverance rover Phoenix Tianwen-1 Zhurong rover Trace Gas Orbiter Viking
Comets and asteroids	Hayabusa2 OSIRIS-REx Rosetta
Heliocentric	BioSentinel
Planned	Dragonfly Europa Clipper ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover
Proposed	Breakthrough Enceladus BRUIE CAESAR Enceladus Explorer Enceladus Life Finder‎ Enceladus Life Signatures and Habitability Enceladus Orbilander Europa Lander ExoLance Explorer of Enceladus and Titan Icebreaker Life Journey to Enceladus and Titan Laplace-P Life Investigation For Enceladus Mars sample return mission Oceanus THEO Trident
Cancelled and undeveloped	Astrobiology Field Laboratory Beagle 3 Biological Oxidant and Life Detection Kazachok Living Interplanetary Flight Experiment Mars Astrobiology Explorer-Cacher MELOS Northern Light Red Dragon Terrestrial Planet Finder

Institutions
and programs

Category
Commons

21st-century space probes

Active space probes
(deep space missions)

Sun	Parker Solar Probe Solar Orbiter Aditya-L1
Moon	ARTEMIS CAPSTONE Chandrayaan-2 Chang'e 3 Chang'e 4 (Yutu-2 rover) Chang'e 5 Danuri Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Queqiao Queqiao 2 Tiandu 1 and 2 Chang'e 6 ICUBE-Q
Mars	Emirates Mars Mission ExoMars TGO Mars Express 2001 Mars Odyssey MAVEN MRO MSL Curiosity rover Tianwen-1 Mars 2020 Perseverance rover
Other planets	BepiColombo Mercury Akatsuki Venus Juno Jupiter Juice Jupiter Europa Clipper Jupiter
Minor planets	Chang'e 2 Hayabusa2 / MINERVA-II Lucy New Horizons OSIRIS-REx Hera Psyche
Interstellar space	Voyager 1 Voyager 2

Completed after 2000
(by termination date)

2000s	2001 NEAR Shoemaker Deep Space 1 2003 Pioneer 10 Galileo Nozomi 2004 Genesis 2005 Huygens 2006 Mars Global Surveyor 2008 Phoenix 2009 Chang'e 1 Ulysses Chandrayaan-1 SELENE LCROSS
2010s	2010 Hayabusa MER Spirit rover 2011 Stardust 2012 GRAIL 2013 Deep Impact 2014 LADEE Venus Express Chang'e 5-T1 2015 MESSENGER PROCYON IKAROS 2016 Rosetta / Philae Yutu rover ExoMars Schiaparelli 2017 LISA Pathfinder Cassini 2018 MASCOT Dawn Longjiang-1 2019 MarCO MER Opportunity rover Beresheet Longjiang-2 Chandrayaan-2 / Pragyan rover
2020s	2020 Chang'e 5 2022 Double Asteroid Redirection Test Mangalyaan InSight 2023 Hakuto-R Mission 1 Luna 25 Chandrayaan-3 / Pragyan rover Zhurong rover 2024 Peregrine Mission One Ingenuity helicopter SLIM IM-1

v t e ← 2019 Orbital launches in 2020 2021 →
January	Starlink V1.0-L2 (60 satellites) TJS-5 Jilin-1 Kuanfu-01, ÑuSat 7, ÑuSat 8 Eutelsat Konnect, GSAT-30 Starlink V1.0-L3 (60 satellites) USA-294
February	OneWeb L2 (34 satellites) IGS-Optical 7 Solar Orbiter (TechEdSat-10) Cygnus NG-13 Starlink V1.0-L4 (60 satellites) JCSAT-17 Meridian-M 9
March	SpaceX CRS-20 (Lynk 04) BeiDou-3 G2Q Kosmos 2545 / GLONASS-M 760 Starlink V1.0-L5 (60 satellites) OneWeb L3 (34 satellites) Yaogan 30-06 (3 satellites) USA-298 / AEHF-6
April	Soyuz MS-16 Noor Starlink V1.0-L6 (60 satellites) Progress MS-14
May	Chinese next-generation crewed spacecraft / Flexible Inflatable Cargo Return Module Xingyun-2 01, 02 X-37B OTV-6 / FalconSAT-8 HTV-9 EKS-4 LauncherOne†, Starshine 4† XJS-G, XJS-H Crew Dragon Demo-2
June	Starlink 7 (60 satellites) Starlink 8 (58 satellites)
July	Gaofen DUOMO Flock-4e × 5† Shiyan 6-02 Ofek-16 Apstar 6D Jilin-1 Gaofen-02E† USA-305, USA-306, USA-307, USA-308 Emirates Mars Mission ANASIS-II Tianwen-1 (Zhurong) Progress MS-15 Ziyuan III-03 Mars 2020 (Perseverance, Ingenuity) Ekspress-80, Ekspress-103
August	Gaofen 9-04 Starlink V1.0-L9 (57 satellites), BlackSky Global 7, BlackSky Global 8 BSAT-4b, Galaxy 30, MEV-2 Starlink V1.0-L10 (58 satellites), SkySat × 3 Gaofen 9-05 SAOCOM 1B Capella 2, Photon First Light
September	ION-SCV 001 (Flock-4v × 12), ÑuSat 6, UPM-Sat 2, Flock-4v × 14, Lemur-2 × 8, NAPA-1, SpaceBEE × 12 Starlink V1.0-L11 (60 satellites) Chinese reusable experimental spacecraft Gaofen 11-02 Jilin-1 Gaofen-02C† Jilin-1 Gaofen-03B × 6, Jilin-1 Gaofen-03C × 3 HaiYang 2C Huanjing 2A, Huanjing 2B Gonets-M × 3, ICEYE X6, ICEYE X7, Kepler 4, Kepler 5, LacunaSat-3, Lemur-2 × 4
October	Cygnus NG-14 (Lemur-2 × 2, SPOC) Starlink V1.0-L12 (60 satellites) Gaofen-13 Soyuz MS-17 Starlink V1.0-L13 (60 satellites) Starlink V1.0-L14 (60 satellites) Kosmos 2547 / GLONASS-K 15L Yaogan 30-07 (3 satellites) Flock-4e' × 9
November	USA-309 / GPS IIIA-04 ÑuSat × 10 EOS-01 / RISAT-2BR2, KSM × 4, Lemur-2 × 4 Tiantong-1 02 USA-310 / NROL-101 SpaceX Crew-1 SEOSat-Ingenio†, TARANIS† Landmapper-BC 5, SpaceBEE × 18 Sentinel-6 Chang'e 5 Starlink V1.0 L15 (60 satellites)
December	Gonets-M × 3, Kosmos 2548 / ERA-1 Gaofen 14 SpaceX CRS-21 (Nanoracks Bishop Airlock) GECAM A, GECAM B USA-311 / Orion 10 SXM-7 CMS-01 / GSAR-12R OneWeb L4 (36 satellites) USA-312, USA-313 Yaogan 33 CSO-2
Launches are separated by dots ( • ), payloads by commas ( , ), multiple names for the same satellite by slashes ( / ). Crewed flights are underlined. Launch failures are marked with the † sign. Payloads deployed from other spacecraft are (enclosed in parentheses).

v t e 2020 in space
« 2019 2021 »
Space probe launches	Solar Orbiter (Feb 2020) Hope (Jul 2020) Tianwen-1 (Jul 2020) Mars 2020 (Jul 2020) Perseverance rover Mars Helicopter Ingenuity Chang'e 5 (lunar sample return mission; Nov 2020)
Impact events	2020 China bolide
Selected NEOs	Asteroid close approaches 594913 ꞌAylóꞌchaxnim 2020 BX12 2020 CW 2020 CD3 (temporary satellite) (52768) 1998 OR2 2020 HS7 2020 JJ 2020 LD (163348) 2002 NN4 2020 OY4 2020 QG 2011 ES4 2018 VP1 2020 SO (space debris) 2020 SW 2020 SL1 2020 UA 2020 VV 2020 VT4 (153201) 2000 WO107 (501647) 2014 SD224 (614689) 2020 XL5
Exoplanets	AU Mic b Gliese 229 Ac Gliese 414 Ab Ac Gliese 433 b c d GJ 1151 b radio emissions K2-315b Kepler-1649c KOI-456.04 Lacaille 9352 b c M51-ULS-1b OGLE-2016-BLG-1928 (rogue planet) Tau Ceti j (predicted) TOI-561 b c d e TOI-700 b c d TOI-732 b c TOI-1338 b TOI-1339 b c d TYC 8998-760-1 c WD 1856+534 b
Discoveries	Betelgeuse dimming FRB 180916 location and periodicity Radcliffe wave Ophiuchus Supercluster explosion PSO J03094+27 (distant blazar) 2MASS J1047+21 wind speed measurements SGR 1935+2154 (soft gamma ray repeater) HR 6819 black hole hypothesis PHL 293B ending of P Cygni profile hydrogen emission lines Swift J1818.0–1607 (young magnetar) GW190814 (announced) South Pole Wall GW190521 (announced) Phosphine detection in the atmosphere of Venus Water detection on the sunlit surface of the Moon
Comets	C/2019 Y4 (ATLAS) P/2019 LD2 (ATLAS) C/2017 T2 (PANSTARRS) C/2020 F8 (SWAN) C/2019 U6 (LEMMON) C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE) 2P/Encke 88P/Howell 156P/Russell–LINEAR
Space exploration	Spitzer retirement (Jan 2020) BepiColombo (Earth gravity assist; Apr 2020, Venus gravity assist; Oct 2020) OSIRIS-REx (sample collection from asteroid Bennu; Oct 2020) Hayabusa2 (sample return from asteroid Ryugu; Dec 2020) Chang'e 5 (lunar sample return; Dec 2020)
Outer space portal Category:2019 in outer space — Category:2020 in outer space — Category:2021 in outer space

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