TIMELINE OF CHINESE SPACE MILESTONES
The Shenzhou-12 spacecraft is launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on June 17, 2021 in Jiuquan, Gansu Province of China, carried on the Long March-2F rocket, to Chinese Tiangong space station
July 19, 1964: China took its first official step into space, launching and recovering an experimental biological rocket carrying white mice.
April 24, 1970: The first Chinese satellite, Dong Fang Hong 1, was launched from the Jiuquan launch centre in the northwestern province of Gansu. That made China the fifth country to send satellites into orbit, following the Soviet Union, the United States, France and Japan.
Nov. 26, 1975: China launched its first recoverable satellite.
Nov. 20, 1999: China launched its first unmanned spacecraft, the Shenzhou-1.
Oct. 15, 2003: China became the third country after the United States and Russia to send a man into space with its own rocket. Astronaut Yang Liwei spent about 21 hours in space aboard the Shenzhou-5 spacecraft.
Oct. 12, 2005: China sent two men on a five-day flight on its Shenzhou-6 spacecraft.
Nov. 5, 2007: China's first lunar orbiter, Chang'e-1, entered the moon's orbit 12 days after takeoff.
Sept. 25, 2008: China's third manned spacecraft, Shenzhou-7, was launched into space, where an astronaut clambered out of the spacecraft for the nation's first space walk.
Oct. 1, 2010: China's second lunar exploration probe blasted off from a remote corner of the southwestern province of Sichuan.
Sept. 29, 2011: The Tiangong-1, or 'Heavenly Palace 1', China's first space lab, was launched to carry out docking and orbiting experiments.
Nov. 3, 2011: China carried out its first docking exercise between two unmanned spacecraft, the Shenzhou-8 spacecraft and Tiangong-1 module, a key test to securing a long-term manned presence in space.
Dec. 14, 2013: China landed an unmanned spacecraft on the moon in the first 'soft-landing' since 1976, joining the United States and the former Soviet Union in accomplishing the feat.
Sept. 15, 2016:China launched its second experimental space laboratory, the Tiangong-2, part of a broader plan to have a permanent manned space station in service around 2022.
Jan. 3, 2019: The Chang'e-4 lunar probe, launched in December, touched down on the far side of the moon. Previous spacecraft have flown over the far side but not landed on it.
June 23, 2020: China put into orbit its final Beidou satellite, completing a navigation network years in the making and setting the stage to challenge the U.S.-owned Global Positioning System (GPS).
July 23, 2020: China launched an unmanned probe to Mars in its first independent mission to another planet.
Nov. 24, 2020: China launched an uncrewed mission, the Chang'e-5, with the aim of collecting lunar material to help scientists learn more about the moon's origins.
Dec. 1, 2020: China landed the Chang'e-5 probe on the moon's surface.
April 29, 2021: China launched Tianhe, the first and largest of three modules of its upcoming space station.
May 15, 2021: China became the second country after the United States to land a robotic rover on the surface of Mars.
June 17, 2021: China launched the crewed Shenzhou-12 spacecraft to dock with Tianhe.
October 15, 2021: China launched the crewed Shenzhou-13 spacecraft to dock with the country's new Tiangong space station.
June 5, 2022: China launched the crewed Shenzhou-14 spacecraft to dock with Tiangong.
Read articles that feature this panel
Russia and China reveal their roadmap to build a base on the MOON to rival NASA's Lunar Gateway - but admit they won't launch any astronauts...
Known as the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS), the Russian and Chinese project will consist of a surface moon base and station in...
China's answer to the ISS: Chinese astronauts start three month visit to the Tiangong space station that is a fifth the size of the...
The trio launched for the modular space station on a Long March-2F rocket at 02:22 BST yesterday from the Jiuquan launch centre in northwest...
Chinese astronauts perform the country's first tandem spacewalk, working for seven hours on the outside of the ISS rival station Tiangong
The three astronauts on the Tiangong station launched on a Long March-2F rocket from the Jiuquan launch centre in northwest China's Gobi...
Is China trying to beat the US and Europe to Mars and back? Beijing is working on an unprecedented mission to collect Red Planet rock...
A joint NASA and European Space Agency (ESA) mission hopes to have Martian rocks on Earth by 2031, but now China hopes to beat them to that...
Chinese astronaut Wang Yaping, 41, becomes the country's first female spacewalker after completing a six-hour task outside Beijing's Tianhe...
Wang (pictured) and fellow astronaut Zhai Zhigang left Tianhe, the main module of China's Tiangong Space Station, on Sunday evening, reports...
Chinese citizens slam Elon Musk over claims two of his Starlink satellites had 'close encounters' with country's under-construction space...
Chinese citizens are lashing out with fury against Musk's space ambitions after China claimed his Starlink satellites threatened its space...
China's Mars orbiter Tianwen-1 snaps a series of amazing 'selfies' after jettisoning a small camera to capture a close-up of itself over the...
Four new images have been released by the China National Space Administration (CNSA), showing Tianwen-1 encircling the Red Planet, to mark...
A panoramic view of Mars! China's Zhurong rover snaps spectacular image of the vast Martian landscape to mark its 100th day on the Red...
China's Zhurong rover has worked on Mars' surface for 100 days and to honour the milestone the Beijing-based China National Space...
China's space agency releases stunning footage of its Zhurong rover trundling across the surface of Mars as the six-wheeled robot begins...
The footage - captured by a wireless camera the rover placed on the ground - was relayed back to Earth via the Mars-orbiting Tianwen-1...
China aims to finish its first space station by the end of the year: Beijing will launch two new modules to join Tianhe core to complete...
These launches are among 60 that China plans to send into space this year, beating its own 55 launch record set last year, and the 48...
China plans to invite other nations and even commercial partners to work and stay on its Tiangong space station, and may expand the facility...
The station launched in April 2021 with the Tianhe habitation unit, and by the end of this year will include two more modules, the Wentian...
Mysterious slow-moving fireballs spotted in the sky over Spain may have been caused by Chinese rocket debris, experts say
China's Long March-2F rocket broke into multiple fragments which became incandescent, experts said, sparking a row of fireballs that were...
China denounces NASA's claims it is taking over the moon: American space agency says the nation has stolen ideas and technology from others...
China hit back at NASA/'s claims it is taking over the moon. China says it is smear campaign against them and opposes 'such irresponsible...
Mars may have experienced episodic FLOODING millions of years ago, radar image from Chinese rover reveals
Researchers from the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences have constructed an image of the Utopia Planitia basin on Mars from data...
China's Mars rover discovers evidence of liquid WATER on the Red Planet - in breakthrough that could provide key clues in the search for...
China's Zhurong rover, which landed on the Red Planet in 2021, detected evidence of this liquid water on sand dunes at low latitudes, i.e....
China vows to build a space station on the MOON by 2030 - up to four years before NASA
Not only does Beijing want to get Chinese boots on the surface within the next seven years, it may also beat the US to having a permanent...
A billionaire space race, first powered flight on another world and launch of a telescope that will peer at the start of the Universe: Major...
To get an idea of just how packed a year it has been in space travel, science and adventure, MailOnline has pulled together a selection of...
NASA might not even hit its new 2025 moon deadline! Expert warns one year delay to Artemis mission will not be enough and now CHINA may get...
Dr Erin Macdonald, a Scottish-American astrophysicist, believes NASA's new deadline of 2025 is 'pushing it' and the US space agency may not...
China may use an existing rocket to speed up plans for a human mission to the moon by 2030 - as NASA falls behind on its goal of sending...
The country had always planned to send humans to the lunar surface, but it was assumed it would be later in the 2030s, after multiple rovers...
Conspiracy theories ignite online as China posts a video of a glass of water on the Tiangong Space Station - as sceptics claim it seems...
Internet-dwelling conspiracy theorists have latched on to a strange new video which shows a glass of water on China's Tiangong Space...
Most watched News videos
- New video shows Epstein laughing and chasing young women
- British Airways passengers turn flight into a church service
- Epstein describes himself as a 'tier one' sexual predator
- Skier dressed as Chewbacca brutally beaten in mass brawl
- Two schoolboys plummet out the window of a moving bus
- Holly Valance is shut down by GB News for using slur
- Police dog catches bag thief who pushed woman to the floor
- Melinda Gates says Bill Gates must answer questions about Epstein
- JD Vance turns up heat on Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor
- Buddhist monks in Thailand caught with a stash of porn
- China unveils 'Star Wars' warship that can deploy unmanned jets
- Trump slams Kaitlan Collins for lack of smiling over Epstein grilling
