ISTANBUL

China launched the International Deep Space Exploration Association (IDSEA), an international academic organization dedicated to deep space exploration, on Monday in Hefei, the capital of Anhui province, state-run Xinhua News Agency reported.

The association was jointly launched by the Deep Space Exploration Laboratory in Hefei, the Lunar Exploration and Space Program Center under the China National Space Administration, the Chinese Society of Astronautics, the Chinese Society of Space Research, and the French initiative "Planetary Exploration, Horizon 2061."

It was co-sponsored by 20 Chinese academicians and 31 international scientists.

Wu Weiren, the chief designer of China’s lunar program and an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, was elected as its first chairman.

Wu emphasized the association's importance for advancing international collaboration in China’s space program, calling it a key step toward global innovation in deep space exploration.

He said the association will focus on lunar and planetary missions, asteroid defense, international research trends, academic events, talent development, standard-setting and promoting the peaceful, sustainable use of outer space.

Though a latecomer to space exploration, China has quickly become a major player and shown a strong commitment to global cooperation.

In April 2025, China allowed seven institutions from six countries -- France, Germany, Japan, Pakistan, the UK and the US -- to borrow lunar samples from the Chang’e-5 mission for research.

China has also invited international participation in its Mars missions. The Tianwen-3 Mars sample-return mission, planned for around 2028, aims to search for signs of life.