BY:SpaceEyeNews.
In the coming decade, the China search for Earth 2.0 will move from slogan to hardware in space. During the 15th Five-Year Plan period from 2026 to 2030, the National Space Science Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences plans a new wave of scientific satellites aimed straight at some of the hardest questions in astronomy: the origin of the universe, the drivers of space weather, and the abundance of Earth-like worlds.
At the heart of this roadmap sits an ambitious exoplanet survey satellite. Its job is simple to state and hard to execute: scan the Milky Way for planets similar to our own, orbiting in the temperate zones of their stars, and identify promising candidates for an “Earth 2.0”. Supporting that effort are three other flagship missions— the Hongmeng low-frequency radio array on the far side of the Moon, the Kuafu-2 solar probe, and an upgraded X-ray timing and polarization observatory.
Taken together, these four projects form one story. China wants to understand how the universe evolved from its first whispers to conditions where life and habitable planets can exist. The China search for Earth 2.0 is the public headline, resting on a deep scientific foundation.
Why the China search for Earth 2.0 matters now
From follower to co-leader in space science
China’s new plan builds on more than a decade of steady work in space science. Since 2011, the national space science pilot program has launched eight dedicated research satellites. Among them are Wukong (Dark Matter Particle Explorer), Micius for quantum experiments, the Insight hard X-ray telescope, the Taiji-1 pathfinder for space-based gravity wave detection, and the solar mission Kuafu-1, along with several others.
Results from this fleet have already delivered several “firsts.” According to Xinhua and CGTN reports, the program produced the world’s first all-sky X-ray map, measured the strongest magnetic field yet seen in the universe, and detected high-speed jets near a black hole. Achievements like these signaled a shift away from a purely follow-the-leader role. In several niches, China now stands as a co-leader in high-energy and fundamental space science.
That track record sets the stage for the China search for Earth 2.0. Rather than an isolated publicity stunt, the new exoplanet mission looks like the next logical step for a program that has already shown it can design, launch, and operate complex scientific observatories in orbit.
The 2026–2030 roadmap: extreme frontiers in space
At a press conference in Beijing in November 2025, officials from the National Space Science Center outlined core aims for the 2026–2030 phase. New missions will target three major frontiers: the origins of the universe, the origin of space weather, and the search for Earth-like exoplanets.
In public summaries, this roadmap often appears as four key projects:
- Hongmeng Program – a low-frequency radio telescope array on or beyond the far side of the Moon, focused on the “cosmic dark ages.”
- Kuafu-2 – a solar observatory that will orbit above the Sun’s polar regions and watch the solar poles directly.
- Earth 2.0 exoplanet survey satellite – an observatory dedicated to finding Earth-sized planets in the habitable zones of their stars.
- Upgraded X-ray timing and polarization observatory – an advanced mission to study black holes, neutron stars, and other extreme objects.
Each project targets a different scale in the cosmic story. Hongmeng looks back to the first hundreds of millions of years after the Big Bang. Kuafu-2 explores the complex behavior of our own star. The X-ray observatory probes the universe’s most intense gravity and magnetic fields. The China search for Earth 2.0 ties these layers to the question of where life can exist.
Inside the Earth 2.0 mission: how to find another Earth
Seven “eyes” at L2
Plans for the Earth 2.0 mission have been circulating for several years. A 2022 white paper and later technical papers describe a wide-field photometric survey mission, often called ET (Earth 2.0), designed to sit at the Sun–Earth L2 point, about 1.5 million kilometers from our planet.
From this stable vantage point, the China search for Earth 2.0 will use seven small telescopes mounted on a single spacecraft. Six units will continuously monitor a large patch of sky, including the original Kepler field, for tiny dips in starlight as planets transit their host stars. A seventh telescope will conduct a microlensing survey toward the galactic bulge, measuring masses for long-period and even free-floating planets.
Mission designers envision a four-year observing campaign. Such a long stare allows the satellite to see multiple transits of planets with orbital periods similar to Earth’s. Earlier missions like Kepler and TESS transformed exoplanet science but struggled to catch true Earth twins around Sun-like stars in sufficient numbers. In contrast, the China search for Earth 2.0 is tuned specifically to close that gap.
What “Earth 2.0” really means
Media headlines often imply a simple picture: find a planet the same size as Earth, in a similar orbit, and humanity has a new home. Scientists use a more cautious and precise definition.
For mission planners, an Earth 2.0 candidate is a planet that:
- has a radius roughly 0.8 to 1.25 times that of Earth,
- orbits within the habitable zone, where temperatures can allow liquid water on the surface,
- circles a stable, long-lived star, often of a Sun-like type.
The China search for Earth 2.0 will not directly reveal oceans, continents, or cities. Instead, the mission will assemble a rich catalog of promising targets. Future large telescopes, both in space and on the ground, can then probe the atmospheres of these worlds. They will look for biosignature gases such as oxygen, ozone, methane, or specific combinations that are difficult to explain without biological processes.
In that sense, the exoplanet satellite is a shortlist machine. It tells humanity where to look first when hunting for life beyond Earth.
Beyond Kepler and TESS
NASA’s Kepler mission revolutionized our view of exoplanets by showing that planets are common and that many stars host multiple worlds. Its successor TESS now scans almost the entire sky for closer, brighter systems. Both missions, however, face limits when it comes to Earth-like planets in one-year orbits.
Engineers behind the China search for Earth 2.0 hope to push beyond those limits. Coverage in outlets like Scientific American and Space.com notes that ET will keep its gaze fixed on a single field for four continuous years, maximizing sensitivity to small, long-period planets.
When exoplanet catalogs from ET, Kepler, and TESS are combined, astronomers should be able to refine one critical number: the fraction of Sun-like stars that host a true Earth analog in their habitable zone. That statistic tells us whether our planet is a rare exception or one of many similar worlds.
Hongmeng, Kuafu-2, and X-ray missions: the support team behind Earth 2.0
Hongmeng: listening to the universe’s first whispers
At first glance, the Hongmeng Program seems far removed from the China search for Earth 2.0, yet it provides essential context. Hongmeng consists of ten small satellites that will form a low-frequency radio array on or near the Moon’s far side.
Location is the key. The lunar far side is naturally shielded from radio noise from Earth and much of the Sun. It ranks among the quietest places in the inner solar system for radio astronomy. By exploiting this radio “quiet room,” Hongmeng will listen for faint signals from the cosmic dark ages—the period after the Big Bang but before the first stars ignited.
Mapping how the first structures formed and how the first stars lit up the universe helps explain when and where planets could eventually arise. While the China search for Earth 2.0 looks for present-day habitable worlds, Hongmeng reaches back to the conditions that made such worlds possible at all.
Kuafu-2: watching the Sun from above its poles
Closer to home, the Kuafu-2 mission will study our star from a fresh angle. Planned as the world’s first spacecraft to orbit above the Sun’s polar regions, Kuafu-2 will observe the solar “north” and “south” directly rather than from the ecliptic plane where most probes travel.
The poles play a central role in the Sun’s magnetic cycle, linking to reversals of the global magnetic field and the long-term rhythm of solar activity. Yet those regions remain poorly mapped. With Kuafu-2 filling that gap, scientists expect better forecasts of space weather—bursts of radiation and streams of charged particles that can affect satellites, power grids, and communications on Earth.
Lessons from our Sun then feed back into exoplanet science. Because it is the only star whose space weather we can study in detail, a deeper understanding of its magnetic behavior offers a template for judging how calm or stormy other stars might be. That insight helps assess how friendly those systems are for life and for any future technological infrastructure.
Next-generation X-ray observatory: mapping extreme zones
A fourth pillar of the plan is an upgraded X-ray timing and polarization observatory, often linked to concepts like eXTP. This mission will observe neutron stars, black holes, and other extreme objects. By measuring how X-rays flicker and how their polarization changes near intense gravity wells, it will test fundamental physics in regimes that cannot be reproduced on Earth.
These observations also reveal how high-energy processes shape galaxies. Jets from black holes and compact objects can heat gas, regulate star formation, and sculpt the environments where planetary systems form. Improved models of these processes indirectly support the China search for Earth 2.0, linking small-scale planetary systems to the larger cosmic ecosystem around them.
Global teamwork and data sharing
China’s space science program has grown through international partnerships rather than in isolation. The SMILE satellite, for example, is a full-life-cycle collaboration between the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the European Space Agency. Another example, the Tianguan / Einstein Probe X-ray mission, involves ESA, Germany, and France and is described as ESA’s first “opportunity mission” led by China.
Officials have suggested that similar cooperation models will apply to future missions. International science teams, open or semi-open data policies, and shared analysis pipelines are expected to play important roles. In that scenario, the China search for Earth 2.0 would not only serve one country’s ambitions. Its exoplanet catalogs would feed global target lists for the next generation of telescopes.
What if the China search for Earth 2.0 succeeds?
From statistics to real neighbors
Right now, exoplanet science excels at statistics. Researchers know that planets are common and that small, rocky worlds appear frequently. They can estimate how many of those worlds sit in temperate zones. What remains uncertain is how many truly resemble Earth in size, orbit, and stellar environment.
A successful China search for Earth 2.0 could change that landscape. A four-year, seven-telescope survey, combined with Kepler and TESS data, should identify dozens of strong Earth-analog candidates, and possibly many more.
Worlds on that list would no longer be anonymous dots on a plot. Each one would become a named target for atmospheric spectroscopy, direct imaging, and future space missions. Over time, a few may join a very short list of planets where scientists seriously ask whether biology might be at work.
Culture, collaboration, and quiet competition
A positive outcome for the China search for Earth 2.0 would also carry symbolic weight. Pinpointing one of the best Earth-twin candidates—or several of them—would raise China’s profile as a leader in high-end space science and likely inspire additional national and international missions to study these planets in more detail.
At the same time, any newly identified Earth-like world immediately becomes part of a shared human story. Once a star and planet are cataloged, observatories worldwide can join in the follow-up. That reality encourages collaboration while also fostering quiet, peaceful competition: which team will first detect oxygen, or map clouds, or glimpse seasonal changes?
For the public, the impact could be profound. Instead of talking in abstract terms about “other Earths,” people could follow the story of one specific world that orbits one specific star—our first true planetary neighbor in spirit.
Conclusion: a new chapter in the search for life
Ultimately, the China search for Earth 2.0 represents far more than a single satellite proposal. It sits at the center of a four-mission package designed to probe the universe from its earliest radio whispers, through the dynamics of our own star, to the most extreme compact objects in the cosmos. Hongmeng listens to the first cosmic structures. Kuafu-2 watches the Sun’s poles and sharpens models of space weather. The new X-ray observatory maps the high-energy environments that shape galaxies. The exoplanet satellite ties these threads together by looking for worlds like our own.
If this integrated vision succeeds, the payoff will be huge. Humanity gains a clearer timeline from the dark ages to habitable planets, a better estimate of how often stars host Earth-like worlds, and a concrete shortlist of targets where future observatories can search for signs of life.
For now, the China search for Earth 2.0 remains a plan on paper and a spacecraft in development. Within a decade, though, it could give us something we have never had before: not just a theory that other Earths exist, but a map pointing to specific stars where our closest planetary neighbors may already be waiting.
References:
https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202511/1348950.shtml
https://english.dotdotnews.com/a/202511/25/AP69255168e4b0c32d4f5ffb1d.html