The State Key Laboratory of Information Engineering in Surveying, Mapping and Remote Sensing, Wuhan University (LIESMARS) is the first state key laboratory in the field of surveying and mapping in China. In 1989, the laboratory began construction on the basis of the National Key Disciplines of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing and Geodetic of Wuhan Technology University of Surveying and Mapping. It was formally approved by the State Development Planning Commission in the same year. In 1991, when the World Bank loan was launched, the laboratory became one of the seven tracking demonstration laboratories of the World Bank in China. In 1992, the State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping launched an open research fund, and the laboratory was officially opened to the outside world. In 1995, the laboratory passed the joint inspection organized by the State Education Commission, the State Planning Commission, and the State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping. In 2004, the laboratory was awarded the title of advanced collective and won the “Golden Bull Award” at the awarding ceremony for the 20th anniversary of the construction of the State Key Laboratory held by the Ministry of Science and Technology and other ministries and commissions. In evaluations conducted by the Ministry of Science and Technology, LIESMARS was consecutively ranked “Excellent” in 2000, 2005, 2010, and 2015.

　　The current research institutes are: Research Institute of Aerial and Space Photography; Research Institute of Remote Sensing Information Processing; Research Institute of Geospatial Information Systems and Services; Research Institute of 3S Integration and Network Communication; Research Institute of Navigation and Location-based Services.

　　In accordance with the requirements of the “national team” in the relevant field, following the tenet of “opening, flowing, uniting, and competition” of the national key laboratories, LIESMARS is united, hard-working, innovative, enterprising. With active academic ideas, remarkable scientific research, a complete independent innovation system, and extensive academic exchanges, LIESMARS has become one of the centers for fundamental theoretical research and applied basic research in the field of mapping and remote sensing in China and the world. Great achievements have been made in scientific research, team building, personnel training, transformation of high-tech achievements, and external academic exchanges.