Space exploration is entering a new era of global collaboration, and China is at the forefront of this movement.
“Space and the exploration of space is meant to be, according to the Outer Space Treaty, for the benefit of all mankind,” said Aarti Holla-Maini, director of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA). She emphasized the importance of international cooperation in advancing humanity’s pursuits beyond Earth.
One area where this collaboration is evident is in satellite data sharing, essential for effective risk management and disaster response. When a magnitude-7.9 earthquake struck Myanmar on March 28, China activated over 30 satellites to capture high-resolution imagery of the affected regions. This rapid deployment enabled the identification of more than 480 suspected disaster sites within a 120-kilometer radius of the epicenter near Mandalay.
China’s Fengyun meteorological satellites have been instrumental in global disaster prevention efforts. As of April 2025, these satellites have provided data to 133 countries and regions, supporting weather forecasting, climate prediction, and natural disaster monitoring.
The shared missions extend to safeguarding Earth from near-Earth objects. Christopher Feichtinger, executive director of the International Astronautical Federation (IAF), highlighted the need for efficient monitoring and a globally coordinated mitigation strategy.
Tan Yuhua, deputy chief designer of Chang’e-7, stressed the necessity of international collaborations in ground-based observations. “We look forward to collaboration with some of the world’s major observatories. We could jointly observe asteroid targets to fully prepare for the implementation of asteroid defense missions,” she said.
China’s commitment to global collaboration is further demonstrated through partnerships like the one with UNOOSA. China has selected nine international experiments from 17 countries to be conducted aboard the China Space Station (CSS). According to a 2024 report by the China Manned Space Agency, over 1,000 research projects are expected on the station in the next 10 to 15 years, spanning scientific outreach, technological innovation, and international collaboration.
“The projects we collect via the United Nations are going on. The China-Europe joint projects are going on. And we are expanding more international cooperation,” said Zhang Wei, a researcher from the Space Application Center at the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
In Africa, China’s efforts are opening doors for nations seeking to join the global space community. China and Senegal recently signed a cooperation agreement for the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS). “Being part of a very big project, international cooperation project is the best way to interest the next generation in working in space science. It will be a very big achievement for developing countries like Senegal,” said Maram Kaire, director general of the Senegalese Agency for Space Studies.
The Chang’e-6 lunar mission exemplifies open collaboration, with four payloads from different countries and organizations, including Pakistan’s first CubeSat and France’s Detection of Outgassing Radon (DORN) instrument. Pierre-Yves Meslin, principal scientist of the DORN project, shared his excitement: “Together with my team in France and in China, we have now an instrument on the moon, on the far side of the moon. And it will stay there forever.”
China continues to invite global participation in its lunar plans, selecting ten international projects to join its Chang’e-8 mission scheduled for launch around 2029. On the commercial side, China launched a remote-sensing satellite for Oman in a collaborative effort between Omani and Chinese companies. This mission marks the first time a Chinese commercial space enterprise has provided launch services to an international user.
As space exploration evolves, international collaboration remains essential for addressing global challenges and advancing scientific knowledge. China’s inclusive and cooperative space initiatives demonstrate the potential for shared progress and mutual benefit in the final frontier.
Dumitru-Dorin Prunariu, Romania’s first astronaut and president of the Association of Space Explorers, offered a powerful reminder during the third International Moon Day: “When you fly into space, you see the Earth as a unity, as a home for all of us, so we have to think globally.”
