China marks 2nd annual Space Day amid rapid achievements

China marked its second "Space Day" on Monday in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi province, celebrating the country's aerospace accomplishments with a series of activities.

A ceremony marking China's 2nd "Space Day" is held in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi province, April 24, 2017. [Photo provided to China Plus]

2017's "Space Day" comes amid numerous breakthroughs and extended plans for China's space program.

China's first automated cargo spaceship, the Tianzhou-1, successfully docked with the orbiting Tiangong-2 space lab on Saturday. 

Meanwhile, Chinese scientists are busy preparing for the launch of the Chang'e-5 lunar probe by the end of this year. 

Chang'e-5 will involve sending a robot to the moon's surface to collect samples. It will then launch itself back into space, where it will re-connect with the orbiting lunar probe, according to media reports.

The Chinese government set April 24th as the country's "Space Day" in 2016 to mark the 40th anniversary of China's first satellite, the "Dongfanghong-1" being put into orbit.

Tianzhou-1, China's first cargo spacecraft

China's first cargo spacecraft Tianzhou-1 blasts off from Wenchang Space Launch Centre in south China's Hainan province, April 20, 2017. [Photo: Xinhua]

On Thursday, Tianzhou-1, China's first cargo spacecraft, was put into orbit by a Long March 7 rocket from the Wenchang Space Launch Centre in southern China's Hainan province.

The cargo spacecraft successfully docked with the orbiting Tiangong-2 space lab on Saturday.

It will resupply fuel to Tiangong-2, as well as carry out scientific experiments.

China's 2nd space lab - Tiangong-2

Chinese astronauts Jing Haipeng and Chen Dong enter the Tiangong-2 space lab on October 18, 2016. [Photo: CCTV News]

China's second space laboratory, the Tiangong-2, was successfully put into orbit from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northwest China on September 15th, 2016.

The manned Shenzhou-11 spacecraft, carrying two Chinese astronauts, successfully docked with Tiangong-2 in October, 2016. The pair remained on board the orbiting space lab for a month, performing various experiments in areas such as physics and biology.

Tiangong-2 is a critical part of China's plan to establish a permanently-staffed space station by 2020.

Quantum Communication Satellite – Mozi

Photo from November 26, 2016 shows a satellite-to-earth link established between quantum satellite "Mozi" and the quantum communication ground station in Xinglong, north China's Hebei Province. [Photo: Xinhua]

China became one of the world leaders in quantum science in 2016, launching the world's first quantum communication satellite, "Mozi," on August 16th.

The 600kg satellite is able to send and receive messages from earth-based stations using quantum communication technology. Quantum communication, based on the behaviour of atoms at a sub-atomic level, allows for messages to be sent without fear of being interrupted or hacked.

The satellite is named after ancient Chinese philosopher "Mozi," or "Micius." 

Dark matter particle explorer (DAMPE) – Wukong

Personnel with the National Space Science Centre under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), work with the Dark Matter Particle Explorer (DAMPE) Satellite, "Wukong," in Beijing on December 24, 2015. [Photo: Xinhua]

After being put into orbit on December 17, 2015, China's first dark-matter detection satellite, "Wukong," has collected data from the roughly 1.8 billion cosmic rays which hit the probe through the course of a year. Chinese scientists examining the data say they anticipate unveiling 'unexpected' findings from the collected data, according to the Global Times.

Wukong is a high-power space telescope used to detect high energy gamma-rays, electron and cosmic rays. 

SJ 10 (Shijian 10)

Scientific personnel at the landing area of China's first retrievable microgravity satellite SJ-10 in Siziwang Banner, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, April 18, 2016. [Photo: Xinhua]

China sent its first retrievable satellite, the Shijian-10, into orbit on April 6, 2017 from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northwest China. 

SJ-10 carried out 19 experiments on life sciences and microgravity during its 12-day journey. It later returned safely to earth, allowing scientists to conduct further analysis on the data it gathered on research areas such as physical mechanisms in microgravity, materials science and fluid dynamics.