20 January 2020
China's Long March-5B carrier rocket has passed testing and examination before leaving the factory and is expected to make its maiden flight in the first half of 2020, according to the China Manned Space Agency. The examinations, conducted by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, showed that the rocket has met the requirements for flight.
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20 January 2020
The core module of China's space station and China's new-generation manned spacecraft arrived at the launch site in south China's Hainan Province after a week of ocean and rail transport, the China Manned Space Engineering Office (CMSEO) announced on 20 January. The core module will take part in joint rehearsals with the Long March-5B carrier rocket at the Wenchang Space Launch Center while the new manned spacecraft will be launched by the rocket's maiden flight in the first half of this year. This means the building of China's space station in space will begin soon, CMSEO said.
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20 January 2020
China plans to conduct three seaborne launches using its Long March 11 solid-propellant carrier rocket this year, Jin Xin, the rocket's deputy project manager, said on 17 January. He told a news conference at China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp in Beijing that the launches will take place in the East China Sea from self-propelled platforms. "We intend to use these missions to further improve our seaborne launch technologies and procedures," he said. "Compared with the first seaborne flight, the coming missions will feature better ships and streamlined tracking and support systems."
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20 January 2020
The next mission in China's lunar exploration program - Chang'e 5 will land a probe on an area never reached by astronauts or spacecraft and is expected to bring back at least 1 kilogram of samples, Peng Jing, deputy chief designer of the Chang'e 5 probe at the China Academy of Space Technology, said. Chang'e 5 is scheduled to be launched atop a Long March 5 carrier rocket in the fourth quarter of this year. It will land on the northwestern part of the Oceanus Procellarum, a vast lunar mare on the western edge of the moon's near side, after flying for dozens of days.
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20 January 2020
The Chang'e 4 lander and rover have resumed work for the 14th lunar day on the far side of the Moon. Both the lander and the rover are in normal working order, according to the Lunar Exploration and Space Programme Center of the China National Space Administration.
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19 January 2020
On 19 January, the engines for the fourth flight of the Long March 5 complete final testing and are prepared for final assembly.
Unconfirmed reports in (Chinese language) by a Hebei-based "military" blogger on Weibo gives a launch date for the 23 July with arrival on Mars in February 2021 and landing in April 2021. It is not clear, how reliable this information is.
Link to the official news on ECNS
In case of interest for the Weibo report, please check out (at your own risk) here