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The Chinese Deep Space Network (CDSN) is a network of large antennas and communication facilities that are used for
radio astronomy Radio astronomy is a subfield of astronomy that studies Astronomical object, celestial objects using radio waves. It started in 1933, when Karl Jansky at Bell Telephone Laboratories reported radiation coming from the Milky Way. Subsequent observat ...
, radar observations, and
spacecraft A spacecraft is a vehicle that is designed spaceflight, to fly and operate in outer space. Spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including Telecommunications, communications, Earth observation satellite, Earth observation, Weather s ...
missions of
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
. The CDSN is managed by the China Satellite Launch and Tracking Control Center General (CLTC) of the
People's Liberation Army Strategic Support Force The People's Liberation Army Strategic Support Force was a service branch of the People's Liberation Army that existed from December 2015 to April 2024. With an aim to improve the army's ability to fight what China terms "informationized confli ...
Space Systems Department. The network was first needed for the lunar mission
Chang'e 1 Chang'e 1 (; ) was an uncrewed Chinese lunar-orbiting spacecraft, part of the first phase of the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program. The spacecraft was named after the Chinese Moon goddess, Chang'e. Chang'e 1 was launched on 24 October 2007 a ...
, and since has been used to support subsequent missions to the
Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It Orbit of the Moon, orbits around Earth at Lunar distance, an average distance of (; about 30 times Earth diameter, Earth's diameter). The Moon rotation, rotates, with a rotation period (lunar ...
and
Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. It is also known as the "Red Planet", because of its orange-red appearance. Mars is a desert-like rocky planet with a tenuous carbon dioxide () atmosphere. At the average surface level the atmosph ...
such as
Chang'e 5 Chang'e 5 () was the fifth lunar exploration mission in the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program of CNSA, and China's first lunar sample-return mission. Like its predecessors, the spacecraft is named after the Chinese moon goddess, Chang'e. ...
,
Tianwen-1 -1 ( zh , s = 天问一号) (also referred to as TW-1) is an interplanetary mission by the China National Space Administration (CNSA) which sent a robotic spacecraft to Mars, consisting of 6 spacecraft: an orbiter, two deployable cameras, lan ...
, and
Tianwen-2 ''Tianwen-2'' () is a Chinese asteroid sample return and comet exploration mission that launched on 28 May 2025. China National Space Agency (CNSA) plans for the probe to return samples from asteroid 469219 Kamoʻoalewa in 2027. After the ...
missions. Similar deep space networks are run by the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
,
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
,
European countries The list below includes all entities falling even partially under any of the various common definitions of Europe, geographical or political. Fifty generally recognised sovereign states, Kosovo with limited, but substantial, international reco ...
,
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
, and
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
.


History

In principle, a Chinese deep space network has existed since 1993 with the commissioning of the Nanshan 25-meter telescope in the mountains south of
Ürümqi Ürümqi, , is the capital of the Xinjiang, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in Northwestern China. With a census population of 4 million in 2020, Ürümqi is the second-largest city in China's northwestern interior after Xi'an, also the ...
. The 25-meter antenna of the
Shanghai Astronomical Observatory Shanghai Astronomical Observatory (SHAO) is an astronomical observatory in Shanghai. It has a long history of astrometry and also operates the Sheshan radio telescope as part of the Chinese VLBI array and the European VLBI Network (EVN). ...
was then not only able to participate in the Southern Hemisphere
VLBI Very-long-baseline interferometry (VLBI) is a type of astronomical interferometry used in radio astronomy. In VLBI a signal from an astronomical radio source, such as a quasar, is collected at multiple radio telescopes on Earth or in space. T ...
Experiment program, but also to form its own Chinese baseline together with Ürümqi and observe and measure distant objects. All stations are equipped with high-precision
hydrogen maser A hydrogen maser, also known as hydrogen frequency standard, is a specific type of maser that uses the intrinsic properties of the hydrogen atom to serve as a precision frequency reference. Overview Both the proton and electron of a hydrogen ato ...
clocks and connected via powerful communication networks. All stations comply with the provisions of the
Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems Consultation or consultative may refer to: * Public consultation, a process by which the public's input on matters affecting them is sought * Consultation (Texas), the 1835 Texas meeting of colonists on a proposed rebellion against the Republic of ...
(CCSDS), so data exchange with the systems of other space agencies is possible despite different technical equipment. The antennas of Sheshan, Ürümqi, Miyun, Kunming and Tianma can be interconnected to form a national association and in this way form the Chinese VLBI Network (CVN), a VLBI telescope the size of China. The evaluation of the data from the CVN takes place in the VLBI observation base Sheshan of the
Shanghai Astronomical Observatory Shanghai Astronomical Observatory (SHAO) is an astronomical observatory in Shanghai. It has a long history of astrometry and also operates the Sheshan radio telescope as part of the Chinese VLBI array and the European VLBI Network (EVN). ...
. The facilities in Shanghai and Ürümqi are also integrated into the
European VLBI Network The European VLBI Network (EVN) is a network of radio telescopes located primarily in Europe and Asia, with additional antennas in South Africa and Puerto Rico, which performs very high angular resolution observations of cosmic radio sources usin ...
(EVN).


Network

In 2007, the network consisted of: * Ground control stations in
Kashgar Kashgar () or Kashi ( zh, c=喀什) is a city in the Tarim Basin region of southern Xinjiang, China. It is one of the westernmost cities of China, located near the country's border with Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. For over 2,000 years, Kashgar ...
and
Qingdao Qingdao, Mandarin: , (Qingdao Mandarin: t͡ɕʰiŋ˧˩ tɒ˥) is a prefecture-level city in the eastern Shandong Province of China. Located on China's Yellow Sea coast, Qingdao was long an important fortress. In 1897, the city was ceded to G ...
(in the
Shandong Shandong is a coastal Provinces of China, province in East China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River. It has served as a pivotal cultural ...
province). * 18-meter antennas in Qingdao and Kashgar * A 50-meter antenna at Miyun (~116°E), near
Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...
. * A 40-meter antenna in
Yunnan Yunnan; is an inland Provinces of China, province in Southwestern China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 47.2 million (as of 2020). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the Chinese provinces ...
(~101°E). In 2012, improvements were made to support
Chang'e 3 Chang'e 3 (; ) is a robotic lunar exploration mission operated by the China National Space Administration (CNSA), incorporating a robotic lander and China's first lunar rover. It was launched in December 2013 as part of the second phase of ...
and
Chang'e 4 Chang'e 4 (; ) is a robotic spacecraft mission in the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program of the CNSA. It made a soft landing on the far side of the Moon, the first spacecraft to do so, on 3 January 2019. A communication relay satellite, , w ...
Moon missions, including: * Upgrades to the ground facilities at
Kashgar Kashgar () or Kashi ( zh, c=喀什) is a city in the Tarim Basin region of southern Xinjiang, China. It is one of the westernmost cities of China, located near the country's border with Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. For over 2,000 years, Kashgar ...
and
Qingdao Qingdao, Mandarin: , (Qingdao Mandarin: t͡ɕʰiŋ˧˩ tɒ˥) is a prefecture-level city in the eastern Shandong Province of China. Located on China's Yellow Sea coast, Qingdao was long an important fortress. In 1897, the city was ceded to G ...
, and a deep-space ground control station at
Jiamusi Jiamusi (Manchu: ; formerly Kiamusze) is a prefecture-level city in eastern Heilongjiang province, People's Republic of China. Located along the middle and lower reaches of the Songhua River, it faces Russia's Khabarovsk Krai across the Ussuri ...
. * A new 35-meter antenna at the Kashgar station. * A 64-meter antenna in
Jiamusi Jiamusi (Manchu: ; formerly Kiamusze) is a prefecture-level city in eastern Heilongjiang province, People's Republic of China. Located along the middle and lower reaches of the Songhua River, it faces Russia's Khabarovsk Krai across the Ussuri ...
. (~130°E) In 2014, China and Argentina signed an agreement allowing China to construct the Espacio Lejano Station. The station was built in
Neuquén Province Neuquén () is a Provinces of Argentina, province of Argentina, located in the west of the country, at the northern end of Patagonia. It borders Mendoza Province to the north, Rio Negro Province to the southeast, and Chile to the west. It also me ...
, Argentina (~70°W), with a 50 million-dollar investment. The facility was inaugurated in October 2017. The station is seen by some as a symbol of China's increased role in South America's politics and economy. Since 2018, China Satellite Launch and Tracking Control General (CLTC) was a customer of the
Swedish Space Corporation The Swedish Space Corporation (SSC), also registered as Svenska rymdaktiebolaget, is a Swedish space services company. SSC operations consist of launches of sounding rockets and stratospheric balloons, tests of future generation rocket engines a ...
(SSC), which provided CLTC services, including TT&C for pre-defined civilian satellites within research, Earth observation and weather data as well as for other scientific spacecraft. It was reported by
Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...
on 21 September 2020 that SSC decided not to renew its contracts with China to help operate Chinese satellites from SSC's ground stations, or seek new business with China. In late 2020, the
Kashgar Kashgar () or Kashi ( zh, c=喀什) is a city in the Tarim Basin region of southern Xinjiang, China. It is one of the westernmost cities of China, located near the country's border with Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. For over 2,000 years, Kashgar ...
ground station was upgraded from one single 35-meter antenna to an antenna array consisting of four 35-meter antennas. The capacity of the new system was equivalent to a 66-meter antenna.


Systems for radio astronomy

Radio astronomy Radio astronomy is a subfield of astronomy that studies Astronomical object, celestial objects using radio waves. It started in 1933, when Karl Jansky at Bell Telephone Laboratories reported radiation coming from the Milky Way. Subsequent observat ...
, despite using similar large antennas, is a very different field than spacecraft communication. There is no need to transmit, and the receiving bands are chosen for scientific interest. * The 15-meter radio telescope in Miyun was built in 1992 and used to study
pulsar A pulsar (''pulsating star, on the model of quasar'') is a highly magnetized rotating neutron star that emits beams of electromagnetic radiation out of its Poles of astronomical bodies#Magnetic poles, magnetic poles. This radiation can be obse ...
s, but was dismantled around 2002 in favor of the 50-meter radio telescope. * The Miyun Synthesis Radio Telescope (MSRT) is a telescope for observing solar activity and examines the frequency range of 232 MHz. It consists of 28 antennas with a diameter of 9 meters each with baselines between 18 m and 1164 m at intervals of 6 m and has been in operation since 1998. * The Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST) is the radio telescope with the world's largest primary mirror. The total diameter of the immovable spherical main mirror is 500 meters; signals can be effectively received over an area with a diameter of 300 meters (aperture). FAST is mainly used for radio astronomy. However, FAST will play an important role in China's 2020 Mars mission, because of the frequency range of its receivers (70 MHz to 3 GHz). Any Mars landing, such as will be attempted by
Tianwen-1 -1 ( zh , s = 天问一号) (also referred to as TW-1) is an interplanetary mission by the China National Space Administration (CNSA) which sent a robotic spacecraft to Mars, consisting of 6 spacecraft: an orbiter, two deployable cameras, lan ...
, must decelerate from many times the speed of sound to 0 within 6–8 minutes, so the frequency of the carrier wave of the telemetry signals in the
X-band The X band is the designation for a band of frequency, frequencies in the microwave radio region of the electromagnetic spectrum. In some cases, such as in communication engineering, the frequency range of the X band is set at approximately 7.0� ...
changes rapidly due to the
Doppler effect The Doppler effect (also Doppler shift) is the change in the frequency of a wave in relation to an observer who is moving relative to the source of the wave. The ''Doppler effect'' is named after the physicist Christian Doppler, who described ...
. In the event of the sudden braking caused by opening the parachute, the regular deep-space stations will most likely lose contact with the probe. For backup, Mars landings therefore enlist the cooperation of radio astronomy facilities that can receive decimeter band (UHF) communication. * Primeval Structure Telescope (PaST), also called 21 Centimetre Array (21CMA), in Ulastai,
Xinjiang Xinjiang,; , SASM/GNC romanization, SASM/GNC: Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Sinkiang, officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People' ...
was completed in 2006. It was expanded in 2009 with new, low-noise amplifiers and better computer technology for evaluation. This remote valley array studies the low level emissions of neutral hydrogen from the
hydrogen line The hydrogen line, 21 centimeter line, or H I line is a spectral line that is created by a change in the energy state of solitary, electrically neutral hydrogen atoms. It is produced by a spin-flip transition, which means the dire ...
. The array consists of 81 groups (pods) with a total of 10287 antennas. These are arranged in two mutually perpendicular arms, one 6.1 km long in an east–west direction, the other 4 km long in a north–south direction. Each antenna has 16 dipoles with lengths between 0.242 and 0.829 meters and covers a frequency range from 50 to 200 MHz.


Planned or under construction stations

* The Qitai Radio Telescope (QTT) is a planned 110-meter
radio telescope A radio telescope is a specialized antenna (radio), antenna and radio receiver used to detect radio waves from astronomical radio sources in the sky. Radio telescopes are the main observing instrument used in radio astronomy, which studies the r ...
to be built in Qitai County in
Xinjiang Xinjiang,; , SASM/GNC romanization, SASM/GNC: Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Sinkiang, officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People' ...
, China. Upon completion, which is scheduled for 2023, it will be the world's largest fully steerable single-dish radio telescope. It is intended to operate at 300 MHz to 117 GHz. The fully steerable dish of the QTT will allow it to observe 75% of the stars in the sky at any given time. The QTT and the FAST, also located in China, can both observe frequencies in the " water hole" that has traditionally been favored by scientists engaged in the
search for extraterrestrial intelligence The search for extraterrestrial intelligence (usually shortened as SETI) is an expression that refers to the diverse efforts and scientific projects intended to detect extraterrestrial signals, or any evidence of intelligent life beyond Earth. ...
(SETI), meaning that each observatory could provide follow-up observations of putative signals from extraterrestrials detected in this quiet part of the radio spectrum at the other observatory.


Relay satellites

China has several relay satellites of the Tianlian series in
geostationary orbit A geostationary orbit, also referred to as a geosynchronous equatorial orbit''Geostationary orbit'' and ''Geosynchronous (equatorial) orbit'' are used somewhat interchangeably in sources. (GEO), is a circular orbit, circular geosynchronous or ...
s, which can relay data to each other and to the ground, thus enabling communication with spacecraft that have no direct contact with ground stations. The technology of the relay satellites enables intermediate storage of data, a higher bandwidth of data connections, and greater sky coverage. These satellites were originally placed in orbit in 2008 for communication with the
Shenzhou spacecraft Shenzhou (, ; see ) is a Chinese spacecraft developed for the nation's crewed space program. Its design was based on Russia's Soyuz, but larger and modernized. Like Soyuz, Shenzhou is a single-use vehicle composed of three modules; a descent ...
of the crewed space program. But they are also used for deep-space missions, for example in 2020 for the Mars mission
Tianwen-1 -1 ( zh , s = 天问一号) (also referred to as TW-1) is an interplanetary mission by the China National Space Administration (CNSA) which sent a robotic spacecraft to Mars, consisting of 6 spacecraft: an orbiter, two deployable cameras, lan ...
, where the satellites Tianlian 1B and Tianlian 2A were parked for orbit tracking and the transmission of telemetry data from the probe.


Moon missions

*
Chang'e 1 Chang'e 1 (; ) was an uncrewed Chinese lunar-orbiting spacecraft, part of the first phase of the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program. The spacecraft was named after the Chinese Moon goddess, Chang'e. Chang'e 1 was launched on 24 October 2007 a ...
: remotely controlled from stations at
Qingdao Qingdao, Mandarin: , (Qingdao Mandarin: t͡ɕʰiŋ˧˩ tɒ˥) is a prefecture-level city in the eastern Shandong Province of China. Located on China's Yellow Sea coast, Qingdao was long an important fortress. In 1897, the city was ceded to G ...
and
Kashgar Kashgar () or Kashi ( zh, c=喀什) is a city in the Tarim Basin region of southern Xinjiang, China. It is one of the westernmost cities of China, located near the country's border with Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. For over 2,000 years, Kashgar ...
, as the first use of the Chinese Deep Space Network. *
Chang'e 2 Chang'e 2 (; ) is a Chinese uncrewed lunar probe that was launched on 1 October 2010. It was a follow-up to the Chang'e 1 lunar probe, which was launched in 2007. Chang'e 2 was part of the first phase of the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program, ...
: first to Earth–Sun
Lagrange point In celestial mechanics, the Lagrange points (; also Lagrangian points or libration points) are points of equilibrium for small-mass objects under the gravitational influence of two massive orbiting bodies. Mathematically, this involves t ...
and then to the asteroid
4179 Toutatis 4179 Toutatis ( provisional designation ) is an elongated, stony asteroid and slow rotator, classified as a near-Earth object and potentially hazardous asteroid of the Apollo asteroid group, approximately 2.5 kilometers in diameter. Discovere ...
. *
Chang'e 3 Chang'e 3 (; ) is a robotic lunar exploration mission operated by the China National Space Administration (CNSA), incorporating a robotic lander and China's first lunar rover. It was launched in December 2013 as part of the second phase of ...
*
Chang'e 4 Chang'e 4 (; ) is a robotic spacecraft mission in the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program of the CNSA. It made a soft landing on the far side of the Moon, the first spacecraft to do so, on 3 January 2019. A communication relay satellite, , w ...
*
Chang'e 5-T1 Chang'e 5-T1 () was an experimental robotic spacecraft that was launched to the Moon on 23 October 2014, by the China National Space Administration (CNSA) to conduct atmospheric re-entry tests on the capsule design planned to be used in the Ch ...
*
Chang'e 5 Chang'e 5 () was the fifth lunar exploration mission in the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program of CNSA, and China's first lunar sample-return mission. Like its predecessors, the spacecraft is named after the Chinese moon goddess, Chang'e. ...
*
Chang'e 6 Chang'e 6 () was the sixth robotic lunar exploration mission by the China National Space Administration (CNSA) and the second CNSA lunar sample-return mission. Like its predecessors in the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program, the spacecraft is ...


Planetary missions

*
Tianwen-1 -1 ( zh , s = 天问一号) (also referred to as TW-1) is an interplanetary mission by the China National Space Administration (CNSA) which sent a robotic spacecraft to Mars, consisting of 6 spacecraft: an orbiter, two deployable cameras, lan ...
: Ongoing Mars Mission.


See also

*
China National Space Administration The China National Space Administration (CNSA) is a government agency of the People's Republic of China headquartered in Haidian District, Haidian, Beijing, responsible for civil space administration and international space cooperation. These ...
(CNSA) *
Chinese space program The space program of the People's Republic of China is about the activities in outer space conducted and directed by the China, People's Republic of China. The roots of the Chinese space program trace back to the 1950s, when, with the help ...
**
Chinese Lunar Exploration Program The Chinese Lunar Exploration Program (CLEP; ), also known as the Chang'e Project () after the Chinese Moon goddess Chang'e, is an ongoing series of robotic Moon missions by the China National Space Administration (CNSA). Engineering Program ...
**
Planetary Exploration of China The Planetary Exploration of China (PEC; ), also known as Tianwen (), is the Robotic spacecraft, robotic interplanetary spaceflight program conducted by the China National Space Administration (CNSA). The program aims to explore planets of the So ...
*
European VLBI Network The European VLBI Network (EVN) is a network of radio telescopes located primarily in Europe and Asia, with additional antennas in South Africa and Puerto Rico, which performs very high angular resolution observations of cosmic radio sources usin ...
* History of spaceflight * ''Yuan Wang''-class tracking ship


References

{{People's Liberation Army Deep space networks Radio astronomy Space program of the People's Republic of China Telemetry People's Liberation Army Strategic Support Force