It was formed in 1962 from the merger of the Xujiahui (also romanized as "Ziikawei") and Sheshan (Zose) observatories in Shanghai. It was involved with the Chang'e 1 Moon mission as the VLBI array is used for position determinations.
In October 2012 the Tian Ma 65-meter (213 ft) radio telescope was completed for SHAO.[1] It is part of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
^"Shanghai 65-Meter Radio Telescope Sees the First Light----Shanghai Astronomical Observatory,Chinese Academy of Sciences". Archived from the original on 2013-01-24. Retrieved 2012-12-07.
^历任台长. Shanghai Astronomical Observatory. Archived from the original on 2020-02-24. Retrieved 2018-12-10.