HELSINKI — China is seeking payloads to fly on an uncrewed mission of its Lanyue human moon landing system, ahead of a planned crewed landing before 2030. The China Manned Space Engineering Office (CMSEO) issued a notice Oct. 22 calling for “active” hosted payloads, meaning instruments that draw power from the host spacecraft, for an uncrewed Lanyue flight. The notice states that the mission is part of the landing phase of China’s lunar exploration program and will take place before a first crewed lunar landing attempt, targeted for before 2030.

HELSINKI — China will launch a complex, multi-spacecraft mission late Sunday to study and land near the lunar south pole, including a search for evidence of water-ice. A Long March 5 rocket was rolled out at Wenchang Satellite Launch Center on Hainan island, Aug. 19, setting the stage for launch of the Chang’e-7 mission. The China Manned Space Engineering Office (CMSEO) stated launch was scheduled for the coming days, but airspace closure notices indicate a launch window opening around 8:00 p.m. Eastern, Aug 23 (0000 UTC, Aug. 24). The mission is targeting the scientifically intriguing lunar south pole, focusing on key questions regarding the potential presence, volume and accessibility of volatiles caught in shadowed craters, acting as cold traps. Volatiles have been detected via remote sensing but there have yet to be in-situ measurements or sampling. Together with the follow-on Chang’e-8 in-situ resource utilization mission, planned for around 2029, Chang’e-7 is intended to lay the technical groundwork for China’s planned International Lunar Research Station (ILRS). The scheduled launch of the Long March 5 rocket aims to insert the Chang’e-7 stack, consisting of an orbiter, lander, rover and hopper spacecraft, into a translunar trajectory, with the spacecraft entering an initial lunar...

China is advancing the development of the technology it needs to try to beat NASA back to the moon. The China Manned Space Engineering Office (CMSEO) completed a pad abort test of its Mengzhou spacecraft today (June 17), marking another step forward in its efforts to send Chinese astronauts, or…

HELSINKI — China will launch a complex, multi-spacecraft mission late Sunday to study and land near the lunar south pole, including a search for evidence of water-ice. A Long March 5 rocket was rolled out at Wenchang Satellite Launch Center on Hainan island, Aug. 19, setting the stage for launch of the Chang’e-7 mission. The China Manned Space Engineering Office (CMSEO) …

China has delayed the return of its Shenzhou-20 crewed spacecraft after it was suspected to have been struck by space debris while docked at the Tiangong space station. "The Shenzhou-20 crewed spacecraft is suspected of being struck by a small piece of space debris, and impact analysis and risk assessment are underway," the China Manned Space Engineering Office (CMSEO) statement Nov. 5 read. "To ensure the safety and health of the astronauts and the complete success of the mission, it has been decided that the Shenzhou-20 return mission, originally scheduled for Nov. 5, will be postponed." SpaceNews reports: CMSEO did not specify the location of the suspected strike, the extent of any damage, or the data that indicated an impact. No potential dates were noted for a return to Earth. The Shenzhou-20 spacecraft launched April 24, carrying three astronauts -- commander Chen Dong and crewmates Chen Zhongrui and Wang Jie -- to the Tiangong space station. The spacecraft docked at the radial port of Tiangong's Tianhe core module. The crew have completed their six-month-long mission in orbit, and had handed over control of the space station to the newly-arrived Shenzhou-21 crew Nov. 4. Checks on the Shenzhou-20 spacecraft could include telemetry and leak tests, verifying guidance and propulsion systems, and screening for impacts in accelerometer and acoustic sensor data. A key concern would be potential damage to the spacecraft's thermal protection system or parachute deployment structures, both critical for safe atmospheric reentry and landing. Tiangong features a 10-meter-long robotic arm, capable of crawling, and a smaller, more precise arm. These could be employed to position cameras and provide closeup imagery of a potential impact. Crews may be able to conduct an extravehicular activity (EVA) to assess the situation. Tiangong crews have recently added debris shields during a number of EVAs; the same procedures, tools, and arm support can be adapted for a Shenzhou inspection. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

The China Manned Space Engineering Office (CMSEO) has announced a delay in the planned return of the Shenzhou-20 crewed spacecraft due to a possible collision with space debris. “The Shenzhou-20 spacecraft with crew may have been struck by a small piece of space debris. An impact analysis and risk assessment are currently underway,” the CMSEO […] Post China Delays Return of Shenzhou-20 Crew Due to Space Debris at Root-Nation.com.

Offering incredibly high temperatures, crushing pressure, and a thick mix of carbon dioxide and sulfuric acid, the atmosphere on Venus is deadly to human beings, several times over – but China has plans to penetrate this hostile environment and bring samples back. The ambitious plans have been put together as a joint effort by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), the China National Space Administration (CNSA), and the China Manned Space Engineering Office (CMSEO).

Due to a suspected impact from space debris, China’s Shenzhou-20 three-person crew are delayed in their return to Earth. It has been a week since the re-entry wave-off on November 5th was called. Meanwhile, the China Manned Space Engineering Office (CMSEO) stated on Tuesday that all preparatory work for ensuring the safe return of the […]

Китайське агентство з пілотованих космічних польотів (CMSEO) оголосило про відтермінування запланованого повернення на Землю космічного корабля з екіпажем Shenzhou-20 через імовірне зіткнення з космічним сміттям. “Космічний корабель Shenzhou-20 з екіпажем, ймовірно, зазнав удару невеликого космічного сміття, і зараз проводиться аналіз удару та оцінка ризиків, – йдеться в заяві CMSEO. – З метою забезпечення безпеки та […] Post Китай відкладає повернення екіпажу місії Shenzhou-20 через космічне сміття at Root-Nation.com.

China is advancing the development of the technology it needs to try to beat NASA back to the moon. The China Manned Space Engineering Office (CMSEO) completed a pad abort test of its Mengzhou spacecraft today (June 17), marking another...

هيلسنكي - وقعت الصين وباكستان اتفاقية تدريب رائد فضاء يمكن أن ترى أول رائد فضاء دولي يصل إلى محطة تيانغونج الفضائية. وقع مكتب هندسة الفضاء في الصين (CMSEO) ولجنة أبحاث الفضاء والجنسيات العليا (SUPARCO) على "اتفاق بشأن اختيار رواد الفضاء الباكستانيين ومشاركتهم في مهام محطة الفضاء الصينية" في إسلام أباد ، باكستان ، 28 فبراير. أقيم حفل التوقيع في مكتب رئيس الوزراء وشهده رئيس الوزراء الباكستاني شهاباز شريف ، لين XIQIANG ، نائب مدير CMSEO ، ومحمد يوساف خان ، رئيس SUPARCO.

هيلسنكي - أعلنت وكالة الفضاء البشرية في الصين عن عملية رقيقة لأقمار صناعي قمر لدعم أول هبوط القمر في البلاد والبعثات اللاحقة. أصدر مكتب هندسة الفضاء المأهولة في الصين (CMSEO) "إعلان مناقصة مشروع القمر الصناعي عن بُعد القمري" على صفحات الويب الخاصة به في 14 فبراير ، ودعا المؤسسات والمؤسسات المحلية القديرة للمشاركة في عملية تقديم العطاءات. تحتاج العطاءات الأولية إلى تقديم قبل 8 مارس.

Offering incredibly high temperatures, crushing pressure, and a thick mix of carbon dioxide and sulfuric acid, the atmosphere on Venus is deadly to human beings, several times over – but China has plans to penetrate this hostile environment and bring samples back. The ambitious plans have been put together as a joint effort by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), the China National Space Administration (CNSA), and the China Manned Space Engineering Office (CMSEO). They were announced last year, with a tentative launch window of 2028 to 2035 mentioned. However, few details have been given about how the mission is going to work, or what it's designed to look for. An image of the surface of Venus captured by Russian mission Venera 13 in 1982. (Venera 13/Don P. Mitchell) With a slide from the mission program recently shared on social media, the plans are back in the news. The slide shows some of the aims of the mission, which include looking for signs of life, determining how the planet evolved, and analyzing atmospheric cycles. As inhospitable as Venus and its atmosphere are, recent research has suggested that microbial life could exist on the planet in some form. Being able to take samples straight from the source should be able to help us settle the debate that's been raging since that controversial paper. The new slide also mentions taking a close look at another of the big mysteries of Venus: how its clouds can apparently absorb ultraviolet radiation, even though they shouldn't be able to. Several hypotheses have already been published exploring this question. A minimum of two spacecraft will likely be needed too. One will stay in orbit around Venus, while another will dive down into the intensely stormy conditions in the atmosphere, picking up gases and particles. We do have some clues about how this might work, as a mission into the atmosphere of Venus was previously proposed by a team from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) back in 2022, though ultimately not picked up by NASA. In the MIT proposal, a Teflon-coated, corrosion-resistant balloon would've been given the job of carrying a collection canister through the clouds, before that canister was sent back up to orbit and returned to Earth. Details of a Venus mission proposed in 2022. (Sara Seager) The benefit of getting samples back to Earth is that we can carry out far more sophisticated tests in scientific labs than we're able to on Venus itself – but the gap of tens of millions of kilometers between the planets presents something of an issue. We have actually landed on Venus before: probes sent by Russia spent a couple of hours taking photographs before disintegrating, back in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. However, those spacecraft never made it back. Several successful flybys have also taken place, and data taken from these trips is going to be invaluable in figuring out what a Venus sample collection mission is going to have to cope with once it gets there. Even if just a small sample of material could be returned, it would transform our understanding of Earth's sister planet.