China has revealed, for the first time, a detailed step-by-step plan to land astronauts on the Moon by 2030.
Wang Xiang, chief designer of China's lunar programme, presented details of the country's plan to send astronauts to the Moon during a seminar in Beijing, according to China's Xinhua News Agency.
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The plan relies on launching two rockets and carrying out a single landing operation. One of the two Long March-10 rockets will carry the Mengzhou spacecraft with three Chinese astronauts on board, while the second will transport the Lanyue lunar lander.
After reaching lunar orbit, the two spacecraft will dock. Two astronauts will then descend to the lunar surface aboard the Tansuo rover, while the third astronaut remains in lunar orbit. According to Wang Xiang, the rover will provide greater operational flexibility for the mission.
Before sending Chinese astronauts to the Moon, China plans to conduct a series of tests and master all essential operations under uncrewed conditions. The programme includes three test flights.
The first flight is expected to take place in early 2027, when a Long March-10 rocket will place the Mengzhou spacecraft into low Earth orbit.
In 2028, a more powerful rocket of the same model will send the uncrewed Lanyue lander to the Moon, where it will carry out a landing followed by a subsequent take-off.
Scientists plan to collect data on lunar surface temperatures and the properties of lunar dust. The mission will also give foreign scientific teams an opportunity to send their experimental equipment to the Moon.
In 2029, a full-scale rehearsal of the landing operation is scheduled. It will involve launching two rockets and docking the spacecraft with the lunar lander in lunar orbit.
The announcement comes amid an intensifying space race between China and the United States, which has set 2028 as the target for landing its astronauts on the Moon under the Artemis III programme.
Source: Russia Today (RT)
