The space industry represents the culmination of modern science and technology, embodying the overall level of a nation’s industrial capabilities. General Secretary Xi Jinping places great importance on the development of the space industry, emphasizing that exploring the vast cosmos, developing the space industry, and building a space power are our unwavering pursuit of the space dream.

Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, General Secretary Xi Jinping has made a series of important deployments for building a space power, guiding China’s space industry to embark on a new journey of comprehensively building a space power. The Chang’e lunar exploration, Tianwen Mars exploration, Xihe solar observation, and the space station’s orbit around Earth… China actively engages in space exploration activities, continuously deepening humanity’s understanding of the universe, and is committed to enhancing the common well-being of all mankind.

April 24, 2026, marks the 11th “China Space Day.” The starry sky is vast and boundless, and exploration never ends. Together, we revisit General Secretary Xi Jinping’s heartfelt messages, filled with anticipation for the development of the space industry.

Chang’e lunar exploration

The Chang’e lunar exploration program is China’s ambitious series of robotic missions to the Moon, named after the Chinese moon goddess. Launched in 2007 with Chang’e 1, the program has achieved historic milestones, including the first soft landing on the Moon’s far side by Chang’e 4 in 2019. Most notably, Chang’e 5 successfully returned lunar samples to Earth in 2020, marking the first such retrieval in over 40 years.

Tianwen Mars exploration

Tianwen-1 is China’s first independent interplanetary mission, launched in July 2020 to explore Mars. It successfully entered orbit around the Red Planet in February 2021 and deployed the Zhurong rover, which landed on the Martian surface in May 2021. The mission’s name, meaning “Questions to Heaven,” is inspired by an ancient Chinese poem, reflecting humanity’s enduring curiosity about the cosmos.

Xihe solar observation

Xihe solar observation refers to the ancient Chinese practice of tracking the sun’s movements, named after Xihe, the sun goddess in Chinese mythology. Historically, it was conducted at sites like the Taosi observatory in Shanxi, dating back over 4,000 years, where early astronomers used structures to mark solstices and equinoxes for agricultural and ritual purposes. This tradition highlights China’s early advancements in astronomy and its deep cultural connection to celestial cycles.

space station

A space station is a large spacecraft designed for long-term human habitation in orbit, serving as a research laboratory and a platform for scientific experiments in microgravity. The first space station, Salyut 1, was launched by the Soviet Union in 1971, followed by notable stations like Skylab and Mir. Today, the International Space Station (ISS), a collaborative project involving multiple countries, has been continuously occupied since 2000, advancing our understanding of space and enabling future exploration.