China has for the first time established a college dedicated to interstellar travel and space exploration, marking a major step in the country’s ambitions for its space industry and a shift toward interdisciplinary aerospace education.

The School of Space Exploration — or in Chinese, the “interstellar travel school” — was officially inaugurated by the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS) on Jan. 27 at the “Two Bombs, One Satellite” Museum in Beijing — a site commemorating the nation’s historic programs relating to atomic bombs, intercontinental ballistic missiles, and satellites.

The move comes amid recent landmark achievements in the nation’s aerospace sector, including the 2021 landing of the Tianwen-1 Mars rover and the founding of the Tiangong space station, which was completed in 2022. China’s most recent Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) also lists aerospace as a key sector.

The school traces its origins to 1957, when Qian Xuesen, known as the father of China’s space program, proposed a school dedicated entirely to “interstellar travel,” predicting a future where humanity would voyage beyond the solar system.

The school curriculum will cover 14 first-level disciplines and professional categories, including aerospace science and technology, as well as planetary science. In addition to the 97 courses currently offered in the UCAS curriculum, the school plans to add 22 new core courses covering subjects such as interstellar propulsion, interstellar environmental utilization, planetary habitability, and interstellar sociology and governance.

The school plans to offer bachelor’s through doctoral degrees and will bring together front-line researchers from the Institute of Engineering Thermophysics, the National Space Science Center, and the Institute of Geology and Geophysics within the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). The approach will provide students direct mentorship from scientists, rather than a single advisor.

Zhu Junqiang, an academician at the CAS and the school’s first dean, emphasized the need for institutions to shift to interdisciplinary talent development in the aerospace field. 

“Previously, traditional aerospace education mainly focused on vehicle design and control, and had less involvement in space science fields,” said Zhu. “The source of cosmic rays during interstellar travel, life support systems, and other topics are worth exploring.”

Experts note that the urgency to study these areas stems from the complexity of future missions. 

Wang Chi, a CAS academician and co-director of the school’s talent program committee, said that deep-space exploration poses challenges that single disciplines cannot solve, including developing high-energy-density fuels for decades-long journeys, regenerative life support systems, and autonomous interstellar navigation algorithms.

“Interstellar travel is inherently a fantastical concept, and the many unknowns of space inspire exploration,” said Zhu. “We hope that the multitalented individuals we cultivate will be able to meet the demands of a changing global landscape in the future.”

Editor: Marianne Gunnarsson.

(Header image: VCG)