CNSA

The China National Space Administration (CNSA), established in 1993 and headquartered in Haidian District, Beijing, is the governmental organization responsible for China's national civil space program and international space cooperation. Operating as a national bureau under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, CNSA oversees policy and international relations but does not directly execute space programs—that responsibility falls to the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC). CNSA has achieved historic milestones including becoming the first space agency to land on the far side of the Moon with Chang'e 4, successfully returning lunar samples with Chang'e 5 and Chang'e 6, and becoming only the second agency to land a rover on Mars with Tianwen-1. CNSA operates three launch facilities: Jiuquan (Gansu province), Taiyuan (Shanxi province), and Xichang (Sichuan province). Human spaceflight programs are managed separately by the China Manned Space Agency.