China's space program
A Long March-3B carrier rocket carrying China's Chang'e-3 lunar probe takes off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Xichang, China, Dec. 2, 2013.
China successfully sent the Chang'e-3 lunar probe with its first moon rover aboard into orbit on Monday morning.
Xichang, China
The Long March 3B rocket carrying the Chang'e-3 lunar probe blasts off from the launch pad at Xichang Satellite Launch Center, in southwest China's Sichuan Province, Dec. 2, 2013.
China has launched its first mission to land a rover on the moon that will transmit images and survey the moon’s surface. The spacecraft is expected to land in mid-December.
Xichang, China
Xichang, China
Xichang Satellite Launch Center
Inner Mongolia
Inner Mongolia
A policeman stands guard next to a component of the Shenzhou-10 manned spacecraft which was found in Badain Jaran Desert after the launch, in Alxa League, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, June 12, 2013.
The Chinese manned spacecraft blasted off with three astronauts on board on Tuesday on a 15-day mission to an experimental space lab in the latest step towards the development of a space station.
Inner Mongolia
Jiuquan, Gansu province
Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center
Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center
Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center
Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center
Inner Mongolia
Police officers stand guard as employees assist Chinese astronauts out from the re-entry capsule of China's Shenzhou 9 spacecraft in Siziwang Banner, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, June 29, 2012.
China's Shenzhou 9 spacecraft returned to Earth, ending a mission that put the country's first woman in space and completed a manned docking test critical to its goal of building a space station by 2020.
Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center
Liu Yang, China's first female astronaut, waves during a departure ceremony at Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, Gansu province, June 16, 2012.
Liu, a 33-year-old fighter pilot, joined two other astronauts aboard the Shenzhou 9 spacecraft.
Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center
Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center
Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center
Shanghai
A China-made lunar rover makes its debut during an exchange on space technology between China and the United Kingdom in Shanghai, March 31, 2007.
The host and participating experts showed the key technologies of the remote-controlled moon machine, which can climb slopes and overcome barriers, China Daily reported.
Sichuan province
The Long March 3A rocket and a lunar orbiter, the Chang'e One, which are under wraps, sits on the launch pad at the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre, in southwest China's Sichuan province, Oct. 20, 2007.
China launched its first lunar orbiter at the end of October as it counts down to putting a man on the moon within 15 years, state media said.
Beijing
Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center
Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center
A modified model of the Long March CZ-2F rocket carrying the unmanned spacecraft Shenzhou 8 blasts off from the launch pad at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China's Gansu Province, Nov. 1, 2011.
China launched the unmanned Shenzhou 8 spacecraft early on Tuesday, paving the way for a docking exercise with another craft. The docking, if successful, will pave the way for China to operate a permanent space station around 2020, and make the nation the world's third to do so.
Hong Kong
Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center
Beijing
Chinese astronauts Fei Junlong (L) and Nie Haisheng wave to the cheering crowd at the Beijing Spacecraft Center in Beijing, Oct. 17, 2005.
China's second manned spacecraft returned after orbiting the Earth for five days as patriotic fervour gripped the nation and the media hailed the mission as a symbol of China's technological prowess.
Inner Mongolia
Chinese technicians check the reentry capsule at the Siziwang Banner, in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Oct. 17, 2005.
Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center
Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center
Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center
Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center
The Long-March II-F rocket carrying the Shenzhou VII manned spacecraft blasts off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, Sept. 25, 2008.
China's third manned space mission blasted off from a remote desert site on Thursday on a trip expected to include the technologically ambitious nation's first space walk.
Shenzhou VII space craft
Astronaut Zhai Zhigang of China waves as he exits the Shenzhou VII space craft in this September 27, 2008 video grab.
Zhai became the first Chinese man to walk in space, clambering out of the space craft in a technological feat that Beijing wants the world to marvel about.
Shenzhou VII space craft
Beijing
Chinese astronauts (from L to R) Zhang Xiaoguang, Nie Haisheng and Wang Yaping salute in a re-entry capsule during a training at Beijing Aerospace City in Beijing, April 29, 2013.