Cambridge: More than 50 years after the last time humans walked on the Moon, China is working steadily towards landing its astronauts on the lunar surface.
October 30, 2025, a spokesman for China’s crewed space programme said the country was “on track” to launch its lunar mission by 2030. So how does China plan to send astronauts to the Moon?
Among legislators and senior figures in the US space sector, China’s progress towards a crewed lunar mission has generated concern. Some fear damage to America’s status as a spacefaring nation if China lands before NASA’s effort to return astronauts to the Moon.
The US space agency’s Artemis III mission should send the first American astronauts to the lunar surface since Apollo 17 in 1972. It is scheduled to launch in 2027, but delays could bring it much closer to Beijing’s planned lunar flight.
The approaching date for China’s crewed Moon mission represents a remarkable trajectory for the country. Beijing launched its first astronaut, Yang Liwei, to space in 2003, aboard the Shenzhou 5 mission.
China’s decades-long preparation for a lunar landing mirrors the milestones or “firsts” that characterised the space race between the US and the Soviet Union in the 1960s and 70s.
China has moved from its first astronaut mission to launching a pair of astronauts, followed by a three-person mission, which featured the first spacewalk for a Chinese astronaut.
The country has since built a space station, Tiangong, in low Earth orbit. When the International Space Station is retired in 2030, it will leave China as the only country with a permanent outpost in Earth orbit.
October 31, the Shenzhou 21 flight launched three crew members to the Tiangong orbital outpost. They took over operations from three other Chinese astronauts who have been on the space station since April 2025. Such crew rotations are now the norm for China and further demonstrate the country’s impressive capabilities as it prepares for the lunar mission.
However, the three departing astronauts’ return to Earth has been delayed after their capsule was hit by space debris. It’s a reminder that space is a hostile environment, however routine missions might appear to be.
The way that China has steadily built its presence in space highlights its technological prowess. Since the 1970s, China has developed more than 20 types of its Long March family of rockets, with 16 active today.
According to the state-run China Daily, Long March rockets have a 97% success rate. That falls just slightly under the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket’s 99.46% success rate.
With its reliable launchers, China has been able to accurately plan and build realistic timelines for its space milestones. In August this year, China conducted a ground test of their newest Long March 10 model.
This model is meant to launch astronauts to the Moon aboard the next-generation Mengzhou crew capsule in 2030. This will replace the Shenzhou spacecraft, which has been the workhorse for crewed missions up until now.
The spacecraft consists of two different sections, or modules: a crew module and a service module. The crew module carries the astronauts. The service module provides power, propulsion and life support for the crew module. The modular design allows it to be tailored to meet the requirements of different missions.
Officials envisage two versions initially: one for use in Earth orbit to ferry astronauts to and from the Tiangong space station and a deep space version designed for lunar missions.
The crew module will be able to carry up to six astronauts compared to Shenzhou’s three. The first flight for the Mengzhou spacecraft, without crew, is scheduled for next year.
Mengzhou will also carry a lunar lander, called Lanyue. This name originates from a poem written by the late Chinese head of state Mao Zedong and translates as “embracing the Moon”. Lanyue consists of two segments, a landing stage and a propulsion stage.
The landing stage carries the crew. The propulsion stage carries fuel for the landing and separates during the final stages of touching down on the Moon. Lanyue will weigh nearly 26 tonnes and will accommodate two astronauts for the trip to the lunar surface.
Testing of the lunar lander has been underway since 2024. A robotic prototype is scheduled for trials in 2027 and 2028, and an uncrewed Mengzhou-Lanyue mission is planned for 2028 or 2029, ahead of the full crewed mission to the lunar surface in 2030.
In 2024, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) also unveiled the spacesuits designed to be used by astronauts on the Moon. At the unveiling event in Chongqing, a technician wearing the suit demonstrated its range of motion by crouching, bending over and climbing steps.
China will build on its successful robotic lunar exploration programme, which has already delivered several major milestones. These include the Chang’e-6 mission’s delivery of the world’s first samples from the far side of the Moon in June 2024, via a robotic probe. This headline-grabbing breakthrough underscored China’s growing technological reach in space.
China’s path to the Moon is realistic, feasible, and most importantly, on track. Their multi-decade history in space means that it not only has the necessary know-how, but it also has what many other nations do not: a clear vision and deep pockets.
China was the second-highest spender on government space programmes in 2024, though its USD 19 billion spend was a remarkable USD 60 billion less than that spent by the US. Its missions, at least on the face of it, are also subject to far less disruption through changing political winds.
A crewed Chinese lunar landing will carry profound symbolism, especially if the country gets there before NASA’s planned return mission. But such a feat would go beyond simple prestige: “The countries that get there first will write the rules of the road for what we can do on the Moon,” former NASA Associate Administrator Mike Gold told a recent US Senate hearing.
A Chinese Moon landing would enable the country to start shaping the rules, the research agendas and the geopolitical landscape of this new era in space.
