Scientists led by CAS member LIU Zhenxing, a researcher at the National Space Science Center, proposed the Geospace Double Star Program (DSP) in 1997.

The program comprises two small satellites operating in near-Earth equatorial and polar regions. Cooperation between the ESA Cluster Mission and DSP enabled the first coordinated six-point measurements of Earth’s magnetosphere.

As the first space science program, DSP laid a solid foundation for future CAS-ESA joint space science missions.

The program is the first high-level, substantive, and reciprocal cooperation—from technology to application—between China and Europe in space science.