Moscow and Beijing say they will expand their joint military exercises, conduct regular joint maritime and air patrols and work together on space programmes.

Device will co-orbit with the Tiangong space station and, unlike Nasa’s planned Roman telescope, could easily be accessed by astronauts for repair.

A space technology alliance has been formed in China by universities, rocket makers and chip companies to help commercialise a sector deemed ‘a new growth engine’ by Beijing.

Chinese spacecraft begins 53-day journey to collect soil and rocks and bring them back to Earth for scientific study.

Lunar lander designed to be the first to bring materials back from the surface that faces away from Earth.

Chinese space agency deputy director declares China on track to put astronauts on the moon by 2030.

Head of US space command warns that China’s space development is make its terrestrial forces ‘more precise, more lethal and more far ranging’.

During their six-month stay on the Tiangong space station, the Chinese astronauts will carry out experiments on fish in a step towards raising other animals in space.

Organisations from Kenya and Ethiopia have signed up to the China-led space initiative to build a lunar base.

US Space Command chief Stephen Whiting says Beijing has contacted US about two space-related matters in past six months, according to news site.

Turkey could play an influential role in the International Lunar Research Station, says space analyst.

The veteran aerospace engineer was described as a ‘hidden dragon’ at an awards ceremony hosted by the state broadcaster CCTV

Due to potential use in development of hypersonic weapons, Vulcan-CFD software is subject to export controls with distributions limited to within US.

Two new minerals have been identified by researchers analysing moon soil samples collected by the Chang’e 5 mission.

Queqiao-2 communication relay satellite arrived 440km above the moon’s surface early on Monday, says CNSA; state media says ‘work is under way to address’ DRO-A/B satellites that failed to reach their designated altitude after March 13 launch.

Soil samples brought to Earth by Chinese moon mission show unique mineral was likely produced in Aristarchus crater and ejected northward to sample site.

Queqiao-2 lifted off atop a Long March 8 rocket at 8.31am on Wednesday, along with smaller satellites Tiandu-1 and 2 that will orbit the moon to test and verify navigation and communications technologies.

‘The satellites have not been inserted into their designated orbit, and work is under way to address this problem,’ Chinese state media says.

It was a project that Nasa abandoned. Now China is determined to make electromagnetic hypersonic space launches a reality.

A CPPCC member has suggested the creation of an agency to coordinate information being gathered by the devices.

NPC deputy and spacecraft designer Sun Zezhou says key technologies needed for Tianwen-3 mission are ‘in place’ while the US Mars Sample Return programme is battling soaring costs.

Roscosmos space agency chief Yuri Borisov says the project, being considered for 2033-2035, could eventually allow the building of lunar settlements.

Chinese aerospace agencies outline how 600 million-camera Skynet inspires system to watch assets at lunar research station and track foreign visitors arriving on and leaving the moon.

Two members of the Shenzhou 17 crew leave the station for eight hours to finish repairs started in December.