1830
China intends to send its astronauts to the moon by the end of the decade, according to updated data from China's manned space flight agency. The launch of the mission is planned for 2029.
It is planned that two Long March 10 rockets will separately deliver the Menzhou spacecraft with three astronauts and the Lanyue lander to the Moon. Two astronauts will descend on the surface of the moon in a lander and spend six hours there, performing scientific research. Preparations for the mission are already in full swing, and the development of spacecraft and infrastructure is complete. It's part of China's larger plans to build a manned lunar base.
China Manned Space Administration (CMSEO) officials provided an update on the manned lunar program during a press conference at the Jiuquan Cosmodrome on April 24. “The development of the main flight products program, including the Changzheng 10 [Long March 10] rocket, the Menzhou spacecraft, the Lanyue lunar lander, and the lunar landing suits have been completed. Production and testing of prototypes are in full swing," said CMSEO Deputy Director Lin Siqiang.
Chinese officials previously announced plans to send a pair of astronauts to the moon by 2030. Two Long March 10 lunar rockets will launch Menzhou with three astronauts and a separate Lanyue launcher. The Menzhou spacecraft will dock with the Lanyue landing module in lunar orbit. Two astronauts will transfer to the lunar module and make a descent to the surface of the moon. The crew will spend six hours performing scientific tasks and research on the lunar surface. They will then return to their counterpart in Mengzhou in lunar orbit, and the combined crew will head back to Earth. The landing on the moon is planned for 2029.
Cosmonauts' training for the mission includes mastering the control of the Menzhou and Lanyue spacecraft both in regular and emergency situations. In particular, the training covers procedures for the approach and docking of ships, as well as manual control for flying around obstacles during the descent of the lunar module. In addition, cosmonauts practice entering and exiting the landing module, working in conditions of lunar gravity (one sixth of Earth's), controlling the lunar rover over long distances, drilling, taking soil samples and conducting other scientific research on the surface of the moon.
The development of facilities for mechanical and thermal tests of the manned spacecraft and the lunar landing module is largely completed, CMSEO reports. Various rocket engines are tested for firepower. A new launch infrastructure will be needed to support the missions. It is being built not far from China's existing spaceport on the seashore in Wenchang, on Hainan Island.
In addition, Lin said, proposals for the creation of a lunar rover with a crew and a payload for the lunar surface, received from the public, are in the selection stage. In May 2023, the China Space Administration (CMSA) announced a competition for the development of a lunar rover with a crew, with the possible use of a commercial development model.
The mission to land a crew on the moon is part of China's broader plans to build a robotic and eventually inhabited lunar base. The initiative is known as the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS). The US, meanwhile, is also working on returning humans to the moon as part of its Artemis 3 mission. That mission, previously scheduled for late 2025, has been officially pushed back to September 2026. In December 2023, the Government Audit Office published a report saying the mission was unlikely to happen until 2027.
