Five themes, three stages: China releases first national plan for space science development by 2050

China on Tuesday released the country's first space science scheme, elaborating on the basic principles, development goals and roadmap for its space science exploration through 2050.

The "National Medium- and Long-Term Development Plan for Space Science (2024-2050)," jointly released by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, China National Space Administration and China Manned Space Agency, identified five major scientific themes with 17 priority areas for future breakthroughs:

· "Extreme universe" – Exploring the origin and evolution of the universe and revealing the physical laws under extreme cosmic conditions. Key areas under this theme include dark matter and extreme universes, the origin and evolution of the universe, and the detection of baryonic matter in the universe.

· "Space-time ripples" – Detecting low-frequency gravitational waves and primordial gravitational waves, and uncovering the nature of gravity and space-time. The priority is the detection of gravitational waves in space.

· "Panorama of the Earth and sun" – Studying the Earth, the sun and the heliosphere, and unveiling the complex sun-Earth system as well as the physical processes and laws of overall connection between the sun and the solar system. Priority directions include the Earth circulation system, comprehensive Earth-moon observation, space weather detection, solar stereoscopic exploration and outer heliosphere exploration.

· "Habitable planets" – Accessing the habitability of solar system bodies and exoplanets while searching for extraterrestrial life. Priority areas include sustainable development, solar system archaeology, characterization of planetary layers, extraterrestrial life searches and exoplanet exploration.

· "Biological and physical space science" – Revealing the laws of matter movement and life activities under space conditions, and deepening the understanding of fundamental physics such as quantum mechanics and general relativity. Key areas include microgravity science, quantum mechanics, general relativity, and space life sciences.

The plan also outlined a three-stage development roadmap through 2050.

The first stage is from now till 2027 that the country should maintain the operation of its space station, and carry out manned lunar exploration, the fourth phase of the lunar exploration project and the planetary exploration project. It also includes validating and approving five to eight space science satellite missions, forming a number of original achievements with significant international impact.

The second stage is from 2028 to 2035. Besides operating the space station and conducting scientific missions such as manned lunar exploration and building the international lunar scientific research station, the country should implement about 15 space science satellite missions, achieving original achievements that rank the world's top.

The last stage runs through 2036 to 2050, when more than 30 space science missions would  be implemented, with significant advancements in key areas reaching a world-leading level.

Using spacecraft as the primary platform, space science focuses on studying natural phenomena and their laws, including physical, chemical, and biological processes that occur in the sun-Earth space, interplanetary space, and throughout the universe. It addresses some of the most challenging fundamental questions and significant scientific issues of the time, such as the nature of dark matter and dark energy, the origins of the universe, the mysteries of extraterrestrial life, the evolution of the solar system and planets, and sun-Earth connections.