China continues to ramp up its space activities, which include a new launch complex, more powerful boosters and the construction of a large space station, as well as plans for complex robotic missions to the moon and Mars.

For example, China's "little fly" spacecraft looped around the moon and returned to Earth Nov. 1 (Beijing time) after eight days of flight, parachuting safely down in northern China's Inner Mongolia.

The capsule used seven kinds of thermal protection materials, returning data that will be applied to China's Chang'e 5 robotic lunar sample return mission, which is slated to launch in 2017 from the new Wenchang Satellite Launch Center. [Greatest Moon Missions of All Time]

In the human spaceflight arena, China's manned space agency is readying the Tiangong 2 space lab for liftoff around 2016, which will be followed by the crewed Shenzhou 11 spacecraft and a Tianzhou cargo vessel that will rendezvous with the lab.

Chinese officials expect that the core space station module will be launched around 2018, and the orbiting facility is slated to be completed by about 2022.

All of these plans form a comphrehensive space exploration agenda for the coming years.

Incremental steps

The Lunar Exploration Analysis Group (LEAG), an assembly of experts convened by NASA to assist in planning the scientific exploration of the moon, is eyeing China's growing lunar exploration capacity.

"China has had a well developed, focused plan, and they are using incremental steps to lunar exploration," said Jeffrey Plescia, chairman of LEAG. "Each mission has achieved the primary goal orbiters, landing, rovers leading up to sample return and then on to humans."

The objective of the recent test of the lunar sample return capsule was to demonstrate gear that can return from the moon and land safely.

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China Has Big Plans to Explore the Moon and Mars