HEFEI, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- China has officially launched a scientific program to construct a satellite constellation in the Earth-moon space in collaboration with multiple countries, filling gaps in systematic observation of the region.
According to experts attending the 2026 International Deep Space Exploration Conference held in Hefei, capital of east China's Anhui Province, which runs from Thursday to Friday, the Cislunar CubeSat Constellation (C3) Program will be open to scientists and institutions worldwide, providing opportunities for developing countries to take part in deep-space exploration missions.
The cislunar space spans from low Earth orbits to about 2 million kilometers from Earth. It represents a new frontier for expanding human activity and will be a key operational area for future crewed lunar missions and the construction of lunar research stations.
Yet human understanding of this region has long relied primarily on isolated, point-based observations, leaving gaps in spatial and temporal coverage and insufficient data from key areas. A systematic and continuous observation network is therefore urgently needed, experts said.
According to Hu Zhaobin, vice chairman of International Deep Space Exploration Association (IDSEA), 30 CubeSats, each weighing no more than 30 kilograms, will form a constellation for space environment monitoring and gamma-ray burst detection. All satellites are scheduled for launch and deployment before 2030.
Through synchronized observations from multiple satellites and multiple locations, the constellation will enable comprehensive tracking of the evolution of space weather events and achieve sub-arcsecond positioning accuracy for gamma-ray bursts.
Once completed, the project will transform cislunar exploration from intermittent, point-based observations to networked and continuous monitoring, providing core data support for crewed lunar landing life safety and frontier scientific research on the cislunar space environment.
"We look forward to working with partners around the world to push the boundaries of human knowledge of deep space," Hu said.
The initiative was jointly launched by the Deep Space Exploration Laboratory (DSEL) and IDSEA, with support from the Asia-Pacific Space Cooperation Organization.
The program will also provide technical training and establish unified interface standards to enable developing countries to participate more deeply in deep-space exploration.
Research institutions from countries including Thailand, Serbia, Egypt, Senegal and Indonesia have already joined the initiative.
The first phase of engineering development has begun, with overall design studies for the satellites, payloads, tracking and control systems and other major components nearing completion.
The DSEL was officially inaugurated in February 2022. It has since established partnerships with more than 60 international research institutions.
In July 2025, the laboratory and several other institutions jointly proposed the establishment of IDSEA, the first China-based international academic organization for deep space exploration. ■
