For the first time, the Chinese private company LandSpace successfully returned the first stage of a launch vehicle to land after an orbital launch. The test of the commercial Zhuque-3 (ZQ-3) rocket took place from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, according to China Central Television.

The launch took place at 7:35 local time from the “Dongfeng” launch site. After completing its flight program, the rocket's first stage landed at a pre-prepared landing site in Minqin County, Gansu Province.

The successful return of the first stage to land marked the first such achievement for Chinese launch vehicles. The test is considered a significant milestone in the development of the country's reusable space systems.

The second stage of Zhuque-3 continued its flight and launched the “Honghu-3” satellite into orbit.

Earlier, Chinese scientists presented a new map of the Moon at a scale of 1:5 000 000, measuring almost three meters long and just over a meter wide. It identifies 13 thousand craters, 81 basins, 14 types of geological structures, and 17 rock types, as well as separate images of both poles.