The next chapter of space exploration may be written by Chinese and British scientists. The 13th UK-China Workshop on Space Science and Technology in the city of Ningbo has attracted hundreds of experts from both countries. They are pursuing further space collaboration and future innovation. Since a joint laboratory was set up in 2005 by the UK's Science and Technology Facility and China's Beihang University, the cooperation has brought together over 2,000 space experts from more than 90 organizations. The results have churned out 12 joint research projects and an international research program. The two sides hope to further strengthen and expand this growing relationship through this workshop, which runs until Thursday.

ANU OJHA OBE, DIRECTOR UK NATIONAL SPACE ACADEMY "A great example is what we call the agri-tech program. So how can we use data from space to benefit life on earth? Now the UK and China have worked with support from both our governments, and it made a real difference for farmers on the ground, both in Europe and critically in China's less developed regions."

TIAN YULONG, VICE PRESIDENT CHINA NATIONAL SPACE ADMINISTRATION "China has expertise in space technology, engineering and applications, while the UK has a solid foundation in scientific culture and training, so I believe our collaboration has great synergy and will further boost Sino-British scientific cooperation."

ARFAN CHAUDHRY, HEAD OF INTERNATIONAL POLICY UK SPACE AGENCY "There's an intent clearly to look at a lunar mission, and as well as a lunar base, also looking at further development into Mars and Marshal Programs. So cooperation is essential in terms of space science and space development, and we'll look to work closely with our CNSA colleagues on that."