Michael Dsouza

China has unveiled a plan for a crewed lunar landing by 2030 🚀🌕 At a symposium on crewed spaceflight in Beijing, the mission architecture was presented: it begins with checkouts in Earth's orbit, followed by a flight to the Moon. The project will utilize the Long March 10 (Changzheng-10) rocket, the "Mengzhou" spacecraft, and the "Lanyue" lunar lander. The Tiangong space station will be used for docking maneuvers and testing key operations, while an uncrewed flight of the Lanyue lander will take place prior to the actual landing to gather data on the lunar surface. The mission to the Moon involves two separate launches of the Long March 10, each carrying different payloads, with a rendezvous taking place in lunar orbit. Two versions of the rocket will be employed: the Long March 10A for low-Earth orbit missions, and a three-stage variant equipped with boosters for lunar missions, capable of carrying a payload of up to 27 metric tons. Several critical tests have already been completed, including tethered tests of the lander, emergency system checks for the Mengzhou spacecraft (scheduled for June 2025), and a low-altitude launch demonstration of the Long March 10. The objective is to thoroughly refine the entire mission cycle without a crew on board, ensuring the safety of the astronauts.