China National Space Administration

The China National Space Administration is pressing ahead with its trailblazing lunar exploration program, following last year's historic Chang'e-4 touchdown with a new mission to bring Moon rocks back to Earth for study.

China’s pioneering mission to explore the far side of the Moon continues to shed new light on this relatively unknown territory, with scientists using instruments aboard the Chang'e-4 spacecraft to peek beneath the surface for the first time.

​China has joined the US and Russia as nations with proven capability to launch rockets from sea. It was the 306th flight for the China National Space Administration’s line of Long March carrier rockets, but the first time one has taken off away from solid ground.

​​China’s Chang'e-4 spacecraft made history when it landed on the far side of the Moon on January 3. Now a sealed container carried aboard the lander has given rise to the first ever seedlings to sprout on the Moon.

​China’s landing of a probe on the far side of the Moon at the beginning of the year was a landmark moment for space exploration, and after operating in the dark for a little while new images are now starting to show the rover at work.

The China National Space Administration made history today by successfully deploying its Chang'e-4 probe on the far side of the moon, a feat that has never been achieved before.