China Announces Preliminary Plan for Manned Lunar Landing

Zhang Hailian, Deputy Chief Designer of the China Manned Space Engineering Office, revealed this morning at the 9th China (International) Commercial Aerospace Summit Forum held in Wuhan that China plans to achieve manned lunar landing for scientific exploration before 2030.

Afterward, they will explore the construction of a lunar research station and conduct systematic and continuous lunar exploration as well as related technological experiments.

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Currently, the preliminary plan for China’s manned lunar landing is as follows: using two carrier rockets to separately send a lunar lander and a manned spacecraft into lunar orbit for rendezvous and docking. Astronauts will then enter the lunar lander from the spacecraft.

Afterward, the lunar lander will descend and land independently in the designated area on the moon, where astronauts will conduct scientific investigations and collect samples. Upon completing their mission, the astronauts will board the lander to ascend to lunar orbit and dock with the spacecraft, bringing back the samples to Earth. To accomplish this mission, Chinese researchers are developing equipment such as Long March 10 carrier rockets, next-generation manned spacecraft, lunar landers, and manned lunar rovers.