Deep-Driven Pursuits Across Satellites, Airborne, Earth, Wells and Oceans

"The question of the right view on political achievements is fundamental, bearing on the Party’s mission of serving the public and governing for the people." General Secretary Xi Jinping has delivered important remarks time and again on fostering and practicing a sound view on political achievements, elaborating profoundly on major theoretical and practical issues such asfor whom we deliver achievements, what kind of achievements we pursue, and how we accomplish them.

As the opening year of the 15th Five-Year Plan, the CPC Central Committee launched a nationwide education campaign on fostering and practicing a sound view on political achievements within the Party—a timely and far-reaching initiative. It carries great significance for fulfilling the Party’s fundamental purpose, consolidating and expanding outcomes of previous intra-Party education drives, advancing full and rigorous Party self-governance with higher standards and more concrete measures, and ensuring steady progress on China’s path to modernization.

Universities shoulder the critical mission of nurturing talent for the Party and the nation. Their governance philosophy on political achievements directly shapes the direction of education and institutional development. To foster and practice a sound view on political achievements, we must put people first, regard delivering benefits to the people as our paramount achievement, and integrate this philosophy into every link of teaching, research, administration and services. Ultimately, we must address the real concerns of faculty and students, delivering tangible results that stand the test of practice, public opinion and history.

The campus-wide education campaign on fostering and practicing a sound view on political achievements is now well underway. This special column features pragmatic initiatives and firsthand stories from various departments. It aims to guide all Party members and cadres of the university tothoroughly study, accurately identify gaps, and earnestly rectify issues—three core standards—to test the effectiveness of the campaign through concrete progress in high-quality development. We shall consolidate our ideological foundations through diligent study and reflection, calibrate our conduct against benchmarks, and honor our original aspiration through hard work and commitment, ensuring the campaign delivers tangible results. We will foster a clean institutional culture rooted in serving the people and the public good, accelerating the development of a world-class university with Chinese characteristics.

From rock strata ten thousand meters deep underground to the boundless cosmos overhead; from tackling underground resource exploration to satellite observation across the universe—at the College of Instrumentation & Electrical Engineering (CIEE), Jilin University, the concept of "depth" represents both a physical frontier of exploration and a spiritual pursuit.

General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that China’s scientific and technological strength is shifting from quantitative accumulation to qualitative leaps, and from breakthroughs in individual sectors to systemic capacity upgrades. The country is actively seizing technological commanding heights in deep sea, deep space, deep earth and blue ocean sectors. Today, the CPC and the state frame deep space exploration, deep sea, deep earth and polar exploration as key drivers for cultivatingnew quality productive forcesand safeguarding national resource security, embedding these priorities into the Outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan. Over the next five years, China’s cutting-edge science and technology will forge ahead toward deeper frontiers.

Faced with this era calling for deep exploration, faculty and students of CIEE stay true to their original aspiration and deliver results through solid work. Guided by the sound view on political achievements, the College Party Committee acts as a core political leader, closely aligning its work with major national strategic demands. Centered on multi-dimensional exploration across starry skies, earth, wells and oceans, it rejects impetuous utilitarianism, commits to long-term foundational work and delivers substantial achievements. The Committee encourages faculty and students to embrace challenges and surmount technical hurdles, advancing organized research to address the major strategic scientific mission of "Marching Toward the Deep Earth", striving to take the lead and set an example in serving national strategies through scientific and technological innovation.

What kind of achievements should we pursue?The CIEE delivers a resounding answer: respond to the nation’s urgent needs and tackle its core challenges, publishing our research papers on the frontlines of resolving bottleneck technologies.

Unlocking the mysteries of the deep earth, exploring oceanic mineral resources, and observing the unknowns of deep space all rely on independently developed instruments and equipment. Since its founding, the College has steadfastly pursued self-reliance in high-level science and technology, rejecting short-sighted, quick-win projects while daring to tackle tough, high-risk deep exploration challenges. From developing theories and technologies for mineral electromagnetic prospecting, inventing core methods for metal ore seismic exploration, to independently developing airborne and ground electromagnetic prospecting equipment for deep and blind mineral detection, nodal seismic survey instruments, and key magnetic resonance prospecting devices—our array of breakthrough technologies has laid a solid theoretical and technical foundation for China’s geophysical exploration industry.

The journey of exploration marches on. In February 2025, the national major science and technology programUnderground Detection Technology and Instruments, led by the College, together with more than ten associated sub-projects, officially launched. The team collaborates with top domestic research institutions specializing in deep earth detection to push forward breakthroughs in core deep prospecting technologies and build a domestic equipment system. It aims to develop an internationally leading research team for deep earth exploration, lifting China’s deep prospecting capacity to the global forefront.

The College’s research vision extends far beyond underground depths to the vastness of space. Breaking the traditional confines of deep earth research, it aligned its work with national aerospace development strategies by introducing a satellite R&D team, realizing cross-disciplinary integration of deep earth detection and space remote sensing technologies. On September 24, 2024, theJilin University No.1 Satellite (Jitianxing A-01)—independently developed by CIEE—successfully launched off the coast of Haiyang, Shandong Province. As China’s first commercial optical remote sensing satellite capable of dynamic off-track imaging along arbitrary curved trajectories, it breaks the limits of traditional remote sensing image acquisition. It can continuously capture imagery of curved targets over thousands of kilometers in a single pass, drastically boosting the efficiency and coverage of remote sensing data collection.

On September 24, 2025, Jilin University No.1 Satellite marked one year of stable orbital operation. It has traveled a total of 2.194 billion kilometers, completing 5,475 orbits around Earth. It has fulfilled 1,767 imaging missions and acquired over 80,000 high-quality remote sensing images, significantly enhancing China’s capacity to acquire and supply commercial satellite remote sensing data.

Exploring the deep earth cannot be accomplished overnight. Behind every major scientific breakthrough lies 20 years of steady, incremental progress in research platform development. The College Party Committee firmly believes that developing high-level research platforms cannot be rushed for superficial numerical gains, but must prioritize long-term planning aligned with national strategic demands and disciplinary frontiers. Only by laying solid groundwork can we erect towering achievements.

This 20-year relay of institutional advancement unfolds as follows: the College’s reconstruction in 2005; the Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Earth Information Detection Instruments passing official acceptance in 2006; the restructuring of the Ministry of Land and Resources Key Laboratory in 2008; the establishment of Jilin University’s sole National Engineering Research Center for Geophysical Exploration Instruments in 2009; and the official approval of the National Key Laboratory of Deep Exploration and Imaging in 2025. Over more than two decades of continuous efforts, the College has built a complete, robust system of top-tier research platforms.

No single tree forms a forest; countless streams converge into rivers. While strengthening its own platforms, CIEE prioritizes shared cross-disciplinary research infrastructure to break disciplinary barriers and drive interdisciplinary integration. Together with other schools in the Earth Sciences Division and external partners, the College co-developed the National Key Laboratory of Deep Exploration and Imaging, laying a solid foundation for the university and Earth Sciences Division to undertake major national projects and deliver landmark research outcomes in service of state strategies. Meanwhile, the College leads the Ministry of Education’s pilot reform project and interdisciplinary center for Deep Earth Detection and Imaging, which have yielded remarkable results. Aligned with national strategic demands spanning starry skies, earth, wells and oceans, CIEE’s research platforms no longer operate as isolated entities, but form an interconnected ecosystem that fuels rapid development across the College and Division.

Guided by the sound view on political achievements, sustained investment in high-caliber research platforms has continuously elevated the College’s innovation capacity, focusing on cross-domain deep exploration to fully serve national strategies. In 2025, the College’s total annual research funding and per capita research funding hit record highs, ranking among the university’s top departments. Great reputations come from rejecting superficial vanity; substantial achievements stem from abandoning empty formalities.

The journey of deep space and deep earth exploration relies on successive generations of scientists committed to long-term research. What constitutes a sound view on talent development achievements? CIEE’s answer is straightforward: rather than recruiting talent merely to inflate statistical rosters, we foster an environment where researchers put down roots and flourish collectively.

The College upholds the philosophy that talent is the bedrock of development, integrating talent recruitment, cultivation, deployment and retention into a cohesive, four-pronged development framework.

The most inspiring scenes here are not flashy talent signing ceremonies, but one-on-one mentorship sessions in laboratories and side-by-side collaboration on research frontlines. For talent cultivation, the College implements a senior-junior mentorship model. Academician Lin Jun and other senior professors do not remain distant academic authorities—they regularly host seminars on cutting-edge research, deliver training, and provide one-on-one guidance, passing down decades of experience unreservedly to empower young researchers to shoulder the mission of serving the nation through science and technology.

To advance priority disciplinary fields, the College is building an international talent recruitment and cultivation system, advancing plans for the Innovation Base for Deep Earth Detection Technology and Equipment under the National Intellectual Introduction Program. For talent deployment and retention, it prioritizes matching the right people to the right roles, refining comprehensive assessment mechanisms that weight teaching quality, research contributions and public service outcomes above all else.

Delivering for faculty and students answers the fundamental question of our original aspiration. The College has rolled out a series of pragmatic measures to address faculty’s pressing concerns: upgrading staff recreation facilities and building aSunshine Mind Workshopto support mental wellbeing. Here, true achievements are not cold assessment metrics, but genuine smiles from faculty and students. When we treat talent as our foundation and faculty and students as our kin, outstanding researchers will naturally gravitate to our institution.

High-grade research platforms, landmark scientific outputs and high-caliber talent teams all depend on rigorous Party building for guidance. The College Party Committee prioritizes building a robust Party governance system to steer high-quality institutional development, integrating Party building and academic work seamlessly to fully serve major national strategies and the growth of faculty and students.

Focused on strengthening organizational capacity, the College appoints outstanding Party branch secretaries to transform grassroots Party organizations into battlefronts for overcoming technical bottlenecks. It designs distinctive Party activities tailored to disciplinary characteristics and student needs, planting the Party flag on the frontlines of scientific research. It continues refining performance reward mechanisms that tightly link Party building outcomes to core institutional work, making Party building the solid framework driving CIEE’s high-quality growth.

True political achievements are never found in flowery rhetoric—they lie in persistent deep cultivation and unremitting efforts to surmount challenges. From kilometers-deep underground to tens of thousands of kilometers into space, from laboratories to industrial production lines, CIEE faculty and students align their original aspiration with national strategies and the missions of our times.

Favorable winds propel us forward; we spur our steeds to advance further. Faced with the grand test of exploring starry skies, earth, wells and oceans, CIEE members will embrace the posture of examinees, the resolve of pioneers, and the perseverance of climbers. We will venture deeper into the unknowns of deep earth and deep sea, and scale new technological heights in deep space exploration. Through unceasing scientific innovation and unwavering dedication to serving the nation, we will write a remarkable chapter for CIEE on the journey of fulfilling major national strategic missions.