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China Reveals Detailed Plan to Land Astronauts on the Moon
Gizmodo • • world
Key Points:
- China has unveiled a detailed plan to land astronauts on the Moon within three years, outlining a series of missions leading up to a crewed lunar landing before 2030.
- The roadmap includes uncrewed test flights, a full-scale landing rehearsal with orbital docking of a lunar lander and spacecraft, and a three-day surface mission with two astronauts conducting extravehicular activities.
- Initial steps involve testing the Long March 10A rocket in Earth orbit by early 2027 and an uncrewed lunar landing and takeoff by the Lanyue lander in 2028.
- China’s plan marks a significant acceleration in its lunar ambitions amid a renewed space race with the United States, which aims to return astronauts to the Moon by early 2028 under NASA’s Artemis 4 mission.
- Both nations face technical challenges ahead, including NASA’s reliance on commercial partners for lunar landers and China’s efforts to execute its ambitious multi-year mission sequence.
