China's Space Exploration Shows Spirit of Openness and Cooperation
March 10, 2025
Recently, we have been hearing good news from China's Mars exploration mission. The Mars radar research team, led by Fang Guangyou from the Aerospace Information Research Institute of Chinese Academy of Sciences, has discovered multi-layered tilted sedimentary structures beneath the surface of the landing area of Zhurong, China's first Mars rover, in the northern hemisphere of the planet. This provides the most direct underground evidence to date of the existence of an ancient ocean in Mars' low- and mid-latitude regions.
Furthermore, the paper from Fang's team studying this new discovery, which is jointly completed with US researchers, was published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences last week. All these events of China's Mars exploration mission mark a new example of the country's international cooperation in space exploration.
In fact, China has been focusing on strengthening international cooperation in space exploration and has taken the initiative to share important information with other countries. For example, on February 28, China and Pakistan signed a cooperation agreement on the spaceflight of a Pakistani astronaut on the Chinese space station. This is the first time the Chinese government will select and train foreign astronauts for other countries, and China's space station will welcome its first-ever foreign astronaut. On the same day, the China National Space Administration released new findings from the study of Chang-e 6 lunar far-side samples. The researchers validated the lunar magma ocean model, which provides a key scientific basis for mankind to study the origins of the moon, its evolution and other major scientific issues.
China has welcomed researchers around the world to borrow and study its lunar samples and worked with US partners to research Mars exploration - such moves not only demonstrate China's strength in the field of space technology, but also further promote international cooperation in space exploration. The country is demonstrating to the world with practical actions that it will further intensify its efforts to offer access to more resources and opportunities for cooperation with international partners. On this basis, it is believed that more and more countries will cooperate with China, with the depth of cooperation increasing.
As far as China's Mars exploration mission is concerned, international cooperation has been carried out from the very beginning: In the implementation of the Tianwen-1 mission, the China National Space Administration has cooperated with the European Space Agency (ESA), Argentina, France, Austria, as well as other international space organizations and agencies on relevant projects. Moreover, in late 2021, Tianwen-1 and the ESA's Mars Express spacecraft successfully performed an in-orbit relay communication test.
In the 21st century, the areas of mankind's space exploration are becoming broader, the topics of research are becoming deeper and cooperation with other countries is becoming increasingly important. First of all, spaceflight and space exploration programs usually involve complex technologies, and different countries may have their own specialties. Although China has made rapid progress in the field of spaceflight in recent years, cooperation allows countries to learn from each other's strengths and complement each other's weaknesses, thus accelerating common development and progress.
Second, strengthening international cooperation will ultimately enhance mankind's exploration and knowledge of space. Scientific research is inherently global in nature, and global resources can be better integrated through cross-border cooperation. By sharing resources with multiple countries, China aims to promote global scientific research. This has not only earned the country great respect in international cooperation, but more importantly, it is an important impetus to global space exploration and research in related fields around the world. Meanwhile, mankind will show its efforts and wisdom to a greater extent in these research collaborations.
The author is a research fellow of the aviation industry at the Aviation Industry Corporation of China Convergence Media Centre. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn
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China's Space Exploration Shows Spirit of Openness and Cooperation
Recently, we have been hearing good news from China's Mars exploration mission. The Mars radar research team, led by Fang Guangyou from the Aerospace Information Research Institute of Chinese Academy of Sciences, has discovered multi-layered tilted sedimentary structures beneath the surface of the landing area of Zhurong, China's first Mars rover, in the northern hemisphere of the planet. This provides the most direct underground evidence to date of the existence of an ancient ocean in Mars' low- and mid-latitude regions.
Furthermore, the paper from Fang's team studying this new discovery, which is jointly completed with US researchers, was published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences last week. All these events of China's Mars exploration mission mark a new example of the country's international cooperation in space exploration.
In fact, China has been focusing on strengthening international cooperation in space exploration and has taken the initiative to share important information with other countries. For example, on February 28, China and Pakistan signed a cooperation agreement on the spaceflight of a Pakistani astronaut on the Chinese space station. This is the first time the Chinese government will select and train foreign astronauts for other countries, and China's space station will welcome its first-ever foreign astronaut. On the same day, the China National Space Administration released new findings from the study of Chang-e 6 lunar far-side samples. The researchers validated the lunar magma ocean model, which provides a key scientific basis for mankind to study the origins of the moon, its evolution and other major scientific issues.
China has welcomed researchers around the world to borrow and study its lunar samples and worked with US partners to research Mars exploration - such moves not only demonstrate China's strength in the field of space technology, but also further promote international cooperation in space exploration. The country is demonstrating to the world with practical actions that it will further intensify its efforts to offer access to more resources and opportunities for cooperation with international partners. On this basis, it is believed that more and more countries will cooperate with China, with the depth of cooperation increasing.
As far as China's Mars exploration mission is concerned, international cooperation has been carried out from the very beginning: In the implementation of the Tianwen-1 mission, the China National Space Administration has cooperated with the European Space Agency (ESA), Argentina, France, Austria, as well as other international space organizations and agencies on relevant projects. Moreover, in late 2021, Tianwen-1 and the ESA's Mars Express spacecraft successfully performed an in-orbit relay communication test.
In the 21st century, the areas of mankind's space exploration are becoming broader, the topics of research are becoming deeper and cooperation with other countries is becoming increasingly important. First of all, spaceflight and space exploration programs usually involve complex technologies, and different countries may have their own specialties. Although China has made rapid progress in the field of spaceflight in recent years, cooperation allows countries to learn from each other's strengths and complement each other's weaknesses, thus accelerating common development and progress.
Second, strengthening international cooperation will ultimately enhance mankind's exploration and knowledge of space. Scientific research is inherently global in nature, and global resources can be better integrated through cross-border cooperation. By sharing resources with multiple countries, China aims to promote global scientific research. This has not only earned the country great respect in international cooperation, but more importantly, it is an important impetus to global space exploration and research in related fields around the world. Meanwhile, mankind will show its efforts and wisdom to a greater extent in these research collaborations.
The author is a research fellow of the aviation industry at the Aviation Industry Corporation of China Convergence Media Centre. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn
Source: Global Times