Chinese Space Program

According to the China Manned Space Engineering Office, the selection process for the first batch of foreign astronauts in China's manned space program concluded in late April 2026. Two Pakistani candidates, Muhanmad Zeeshan Ali and Khurram Daud, were ultimately selected. Recently, they will come to China as reserve astronauts for training. After completing all the training and passing the assessment, one of them will participate in the flight mission as a payload specialist, becoming the first foreign astronaut to enter the Chinese space station.
 
The CZ-10B rocket is a two-stage tandem configuration, based on the reusable first stage of the CZ-10A rocket. The second stage uses a 5-meter diameter liquid oxygen-methane module and is equipped with a 5.2-meter diameter fairing. It adopts a "three-horizontal" launch and test mode, with the first stage recovered via a sea-based net system. Its LEO payload capacity is no less than 16 tons (in the first-stage recovery state), comparable to the Falcon 9 rocket. Its maiden flight is planned for the first half of 2026, with flight of a reused booster scheduled for November.
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The China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT) has developed a 5-meter-diameter composite material power module (engine bay-thrust structure).

On April 11, the first 5-meter-diameter composite material power module developed by CALT officially rolled off the production line. This power module is the largest integral composite material module for reusable launch vehicles in China's aerospace field, marking a breakthrough in CALT's manufacturing technology innovation and providing strong support for the smooth progress of major national engineering projects.

Wang Guohui, Secretary of the Party Committee of CALT, along with the chief designers of the project, relevant departments of CALT, and personnel from affiliated units, witnessed the successful completion of the product.

At the production workshop, Wang Guohui fully affirmed the hard work and achievements of the research and development team. He pointed out that the team's work plays a vital supporting role in promoting the high-quality development of China's aerospace industry, and their dedication is worthwhile. He expressed his expectation for the success of subsequent flight missions. He emphasized the need to build on previous work, stay focused on the goals, accelerate the progress of subsequent missions, push the technology to a new level, and continuously take effective measures to steadily achieve large-scale production.

The power module uses composite materials for over 60% of its structure. The wall panels are capable of withstanding a Thousand-ton Axial Compression Load on a lightweight structure and have adaptive adjustment interfaces.

The research and development team adopted a highly parallel and collaborative approach in the development of the power compartment structure, overcoming challenges such as high-precision and high-quality manufacturing of the new large-size composite material overall structure and complex technical status management under a highly parallel and collaborative mode. The first product was completed from scheme design to product delivery in 7 months.
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About Tianwen-3
Since the announcement of the cooperation opportunities in April 2025, a total of 28 letters of intent for cooperation have been received. Following the selection principles of 'high scientific value, strong support for the mission, strong engineering feasibility, and high technological maturity,' five cooperative projects were ultimately selected.

The orbiter will carry three cooperative payloads: the Mars PEX spectrometer developed under the leadership of the International Space Research Committee's exploration working group, designed to investigate traces of life on Mars and the surface mineral composition; the Mars molecular ion composition analyzer led by Macau University of Science and Technology, used to study the atmospheric escape processes on Mars; and the laser heterodyne spectrometer led by the Chinese University of Hong Kong, used to investigate the vertical distribution of water isotopes in the Martian atmosphere and the Martian wind field.

The server will carry the Mars high-resolution hyperspectral imager developed under the leadership of the University of Hong Kong, intended for the detection of life traces, hydrated minerals, and resource surveys.

The lander will carry a laser retroreflector array developed under the leadership of the Italian National Institute for Nuclear Physics—Frascati National Laboratory, used to establish precise reference points on the Martian surface.

Screenshot_2026-04-25-02-19-30-06_99c04817c0de5652397fc8b56c3b3817.jpg
 
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天问三号任务计划于2031年前后携带火星样品返回地球-新华网

天问三号任务计划于2031年前后携带火星样品返回地球-
www.news.cn

The Tianwen 3 orbiter will carry three international/partner payloads: a Mars PEX spectrometer developed under the leadership of the COSPAR's PEX, used to search for traces of life on Mars and detect surface mineral composition; a Mars molecular ion composition analyzer developed under the leadership of the Macau University of Science and Technology, used to detect atmospheric escape processes on Mars; and a laser heterodyne spectrometer developed under the leadership of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, used to detect the distribution of water isotopes in the Martian atmosphere and the Martian wind field.

The cruise/service/relay module will carry a Mars surface hyperspectral imager developed under the leadership of the University of Hong Kong, used for the detection of traces of life, water-bearing minerals, and resource surveys.

The lander will carry a laser corner reflector array developed under the leadership of the Italian National Institute for Nuclear Physics-Vlascatti National Laboratory, used to establish precise reference points on the Martian surface.
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Presentation video: https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1rSoLBWEyL/?p=1

China unveils Tianwen-3 plans in search for life on Mars
news.cgtn.com

China unveils Tianwen-3 plans in search for life on Mars

China celebrated its 11th Space Day on Friday with an update on its planetary exploration for signs of life on Mars. The mission to retrieve rocks and soil from the Red Planet, named Tianwen-3, is scheduled to launch in 2028 and should return no less than 500 grams of Martian samples to Earth...
news.cgtn.com news.cgtn.com

Tianwen-3 Mars sample return: CNSA has selected five international and Hong Kong and Macao cooperation payloads to add to the mission, scheduled to launch in late 2028 via two Long March 5 rockets. Return to Earth with ~500g of samples in 2031.
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https://twitter.com/x/status/2047579204150067441
View: https://x.com/AJ_FI/status/2047579204150067441#m
 
Via NSF:
The China National Space Administration released a series of major information in the aerospace field, including Tianwen-3, Xihe-2, and commercial spaceflight.

According to a report by China National Radio's "News and Newspaper Summary," the China National Space Administration (CNSA) released several major announcements on the 24th, including information on new lunar minerals, the selection results for collaborative projects for the Tianwen-3 mission, an announcement of international cooperation opportunities with the Xihe-2 mission, and the "Commercial Spaceflight Standards System (Version 1.0)."

Chinese scientists discovered two new lunar minerals in lunar samples from the Chang'e-5 lunar probe, naming them magnesium Chang'e stone and cerium Chang'e stone, respectively. These are the second and third new lunar minerals discovered by Chinese scientists, following Chang'e stone discovered in 2022.

Hou Zengqian, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chief Scientist of China's Planetary Exploration Program, stated: "Next, we will continue to study the new material composition of lunar samples to further expand our understanding of the formation and evolution of planets in outer space, and at the same time provide scientific basis for future resource development and utilization."

China's Tianwen-3 mission is scheduled to launch around 2028 and return Martian samples to Earth around 2031. Five collaborative projects from institutions such as the International Space Research Council and the Italian National Institute of Nuclear Physics were selected.

Guan Feng, Director of the Lunar Exploration and Space Engineering Center of the China National Space Administration (CNSA), stated that the five cooperative projects are progressing smoothly, with prototype products already delivered and undergoing domestic testing. The CNSA will continue to work with international partners to advance these projects and expand the boundaries of human knowledge.

A simultaneous announcement of international cooperation opportunities for the Xihe-2 solar probe satellite was also released. The plan is to carry international collaborative scientific payloads onto the Xihe-2 probe platform to jointly conduct space science exploration and research.
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