The Aerospace Information Research Institute (AIR) under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) was established in July 2017, following the approval for consolidation of three CAS institutes: the Institute of Electronics (IECAS), the Institute of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth (RADI), and the Academy of Opto-Electronics (AOE) at CAS President Board Meeting. The merger is the outcome of CAS efforts towards reformation of its R&D system to meet future R&D challenges and to better meet the national demands.
AIR houses twenty national-level / CAS-level key laboratories, centers, and unincorporated units. AIR aspires to achieve major scientific breakthroughs and take the lead in constructing a national laboratory in the field of aerospace information by pooling research advantages inherited from its former institutes and in line with major national needs.
AIR has developed an international S&T cooperation platform which consists of the International Society for Digital Earth (ISDE), the International Centre on Space Technologies for Natural and Cultural Heritage (HIST) under the auspices of UNESCO, the International Programme Office for Integrated Research on Disaster Risk (IRDR IPO) and the CAS-TWAS Centre of Excellence on Space Technology for Disaster Mitigation (SDIM).
