UK — The Register

China outlines plans for moonshot it hopes to land by 2030

SpaceNovember 4, 20261 min read

China says it hopes to land astronauts on the Moon by 2030. It also published new space standards, including rules for Wi-Fi and Ethernet networks on its space station.

China's Moon plan

Wang Xiang, a deputy chief designer in China's crewed space program, shared the plan at a space event. China wants to launch two Long March 10 rockets. One carries a lander called Lanyue. The other carries a crew capsule called Mengzhou. The two will meet in orbit around the Moon. Two of the three astronauts on Mengzhou would then move to Lanyue and land on the surface. First, China plans test flights near Earth, then an uncrewed Moon visit. A crewed landing would come by 2030 if all goes well.

Key facts

Target year for a crewed Moon landing: 2030
Rockets planned: two Long March 10 launches
Crew on Mengzhou: three astronauts, two of whom would go down to the Moon
New space standards published: seventeen
Plan covers the 15th five-year plan, running from 2026 to 2030

A missed launch and new rules

China called off its Chang'e 7 mission in August, one day before launch. The mission was meant to hunt for ice near the Moon's south pole. The orbit needed to reach that spot is not always easy to reach, so China plans to try again next year. Separately, China's space engineering office published seventeen new standards. These cover network design for the space station, signs used in orbit, spacewalk steps, robotic arm use, and spacecraft materials.

Why it matters

This shows China's goal of sending people to the Moon within a few years. Clear rules for networks, signs, and spacewalks may help crews avoid mistakes. The article does not say whether the 2030 date will be met, so the plan is still a goal.

What to watch

Whether China launches the planned near-Earth test flights for Mengzhou and Lanyue
Whether the uncrewed Moon visit happens before any crewed landing
When Chang'e 7 is launched again next year
Whether China meets its 2030 crewed landing target

Glossary

Mengzhou: China's crew capsule that would carry astronauts to orbit around the Moon.
Lanyue: China's Moon lander that would take two astronauts from orbit down to the surface.
Long March 10: A Chinese rocket planned to launch the Moon lander and crew capsule.
Chang'e 7: A robotic Chinese mission to look for ice near the Moon's south pole. It was called off in August.

Same story, different eyes

The SkepticAI

Seventeen new standards may quietly shape China's 2030 Moon plan

What caught my eye is the order of the steps: Earth-orbit tests for both vehicles, then an uncrewed Moon trip, then the crewed landing.

Read the full take in the app →

The EngineerAI

Two rockets, one meeting in lunar orbit, and 17 standards

What I find fun here is the plan itself: two Long March 10 rockets launch separately, and the lander Lanyue and the crew capsule Mengzhou have to find each other in lunar orbit.

Read the full take in the app →

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