China National Space Administration in the context of "Yutu-2"

Government space agencies, established by the governments of countries and regional agencies (groupings of countries) are established as a means for advocating for engaging in activities related to outer space, exploitation of space systems, and/or space exploration. The listings summarize all countries' and regional authorities' space agencies with a comparative summary of demonstrated capabilities.

The objectives include national prestige, exploitation of remote sensing information, communications, education, and economic development. These agencies tend to be civil in nature (vs military) and serve to advance the benefits of exploitation and/or exploration of space. They span the spectrum from old organizations with small budgets to mature national or regional enterprises such as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of the United States, the European Space Agency (ESA) which coordinates for more than 20 constituent countries, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), the Roscosmos State Corporation for Space Activities (Roscosmos) of Russia, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), and the China National Space Administration (CNSA).

The physical exploration of the Moon began when Luna 2, a space probe launched by the Soviet Union, made a deliberate impact on the surface of the Moon on 14 September, 1959. Prior to that the only available means of lunar exploration had been observations from Earth. The invention of the optical telescope brought about the first leap in the quality of lunar observations. Galileo Galilei is generally credited as the first person to use a telescope for astronomical purposes, having made his own telescope in 1609. The mountains and craters on the lunar surface were among his first observations.

Human exploration of the Moon since Luna 2 has consisted of both crewed and uncrewed missions. NASA's Apollo program has been the only program to successfully land humans on the Moon, which it did six times on the near side in the late 20th century. The first human landing took place in 1969, when the Apollo 11 astronauts Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong touched down on the surface in the region of Mare Tranquillitatis, leaving scientific instruments upon the mission's completion and returning lunar samples to Earth. All lunar missions had taken place on the lunar near side until the first soft landing on the far side of the Moon was made by the CNSA robotic spacecraft Chang'e 4 in early 2019, which successfully deployed the Yutu-2 robotic lunar rover. On 25 June 2024, CNSA's Chang'e 6 conducted the first lunar sample return from the far side of the Moon.

The BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS; Chinese: 北斗卫星导航系统; pinyin: běidǒu wèixīng dǎoháng xìtǒng) is a satellite-based radio navigation system owned and operated by the China National Space Administration. It provides geolocation and time information to a BDS receiver anywhere on or near the Earth where there is an unobstructed line of sight to four or more BDS satellites. It does not require the user to transmit any data and operates independently of any telephonic or Internet reception, though these technologies can enhance the usefulness of the BDS positioning information.

The current service, BeiDou-3 (third-generation BeiDou), provides full global coverage for timing and navigation, along with Russia's GLONASS, the European Galileo, and the US's GPS. It comprises satellites in three types of orbits: 24 in medium Earth orbit (global coverage), 3 in inclined geosynchronous orbit (Asia–Pacific coverage), and 3 in geostationary orbit (China coverage). The BeiDou-3 system was fully operational in July 2020. In 2016, BeiDou-3 reached millimeter-level accuracy with post-processing.

A Mars rover is a remote-controlled motor vehicle designed to travel on the surface of Mars. Rovers have several advantages over stationary landers: they examine more territory, they can be directed to interesting features, they can place themselves in sunny positions to weather winter months, and they can advance the knowledge of how to perform very remote robotic vehicle control. They serve a different purpose than orbital spacecraft like Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. A more recent development is the Mars helicopter.

As of May 2021, there have been six successful robotically operated Mars rovers; the first five, managed by the American NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, were (by date of Mars landing): Sojourner (1997), Spirit (2004–2010), Opportunity (2004–2018), Curiosity (2012–present), and Perseverance (2021–present). The sixth, managed by the China National Space Administration, is Zhurong (2021–2022).

Soochow University (Chinese: 苏州大学; Pinyin: Sūzhōu Dàxué; abbreviated SUDA) is a comprehensive university located in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, one of the most economically developed regions in China. It is administered by the Jiangsu Provincial People’s Government and co-sponsored by the Ministry of Education and Jiangsu Province as part of the national Double First-Class initiative. The university is also co-constructed by the China National Space Administration. Soochow University was among the first institutions included in China’s Project 211 and the 2011 Collaborative Innovation Plan. It is one of China’s leading universities, ranking 28th nationwide.

The university traces its origins to Soochow University, a private institution founded in 1900. In August 1952, the Chinese Departments of the private Soochow University, along with its Departments of Physics, Chemistry, and Biology, the Suxun Institute of Culture and Education, and the Mathematics and Physics Department of the private Jiangnan University, were merged to establish the Sunan Teachers College on the former Soochow University campus. In December of the same year, the institution was renamed Jiangsu Teachers College.

The Ministry of Aerospace Industry of the People's Republic of China (simplified Chinese: 中华人民共和国航天工业部; traditional Chinese: 中華人民共和國航天工業部; pinyin: Zhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó Hángtiān Gōngyèbù) was a government ministry of China from 1956 to 1988. The ministry was responsible for managing the Chinese space program. In 1988, the ministry was succeeded by the Ministry of Astronautics Industry, which was split into the China National Space Administration and China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation in July 1993 as a part of government reform and modernization efforts.

Chang'e 4 (/tʃɑːŋˈə/; Chinese: 嫦娥四号; pinyin: Cháng'é Sìhào; lit. 'Chang'e No. 4') is a robotic spacecraft mission in the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program of the CNSA. It made a soft landing on the far side of the Moon, the first spacecraft to do so, on 3 January 2019.

A communication relay satellite, Queqiao, was first launched to a halo orbit near the Earth–Moon L₂ point in May 2018. The robotic lander and Yutu-2 (Chinese: 玉兔二号; pinyin: Yùtù Èrhào; lit. 'Jade Rabbit No. 2') rover were launched on 7 December 2018 and entered lunar orbit on 12 December 2018, before landing on the Moon's far side. On 15 January it was announced that seeds had sprouted in the lunar lander's biological experiment, the first plants to sprout on the Moon. The mission is the follow-up to Chang'e 3, the first Chinese landing on the Moon.