As an important part of the Beijing Aerospace Control Center (BACC), the software system provides much-needed support for command and information exchange in China's manned space program and deep space explorations.

The software team has supported more than 20 successful space missions in the past decade, including the construction of the China Space Station, the lunar probe's landing on the dark side of the moon, lunar sampling, and the dispatch of a robotic spacecraft to Mars.

Liu Xiaohui, deputy director for software support, explained to CGTN how they work with the software system. The core is to obtain data from spacecraft and give feedback to operators at the BACC, he said.

"It helps our personnel on the ground to control the spacecraft and stores and processes data for the references of the flight controllers," Liu said.

Liu said the software that the center developed went through numerous tests to meet very high standards in security and reliability for space missions, especially for manned missions concerning the safety of astronauts.

"For the in-orbit extravehicular activities, like the installation of some payloads, we provided 3D animation to the ground personnel through the software," Liu said, explaining that China's space station has many cameras, but they cannot get a panoramic image of the entire station.

However, the personnel on ground need to see it from different angles and distances, for example in key control processes, such as extravehicular activities, rendezvous and docking, transposition of modules, and movement of robotic arms.

"The simulation is based on the data from the station. So, the status, like the angles of the solar panels and position of the station are real," he said.

Liu said the software system also gives a physical check on the space station during its long-term in-orbit operation, collects data and identifies malfunctions, meeting the requirements of different types of aerospace missions.

"When we designed the software system, we would consider making it a universal platform for different missions, for example, the Phase-4 Lunar Probe Mission, the following space station operations and the manned lunar landing," Liu said.

"And for the following operation control, I think we will use key technologies like big data and AI to assist us in implementing decisions," he said.

According to the team leader, the goal of his team is to provide more stable, reliable and effective products and ensure the space operations run smoothly.

"With this at heart, we will keep learning and introducing new technologies and increase our efficiency," Liu said.