China announces clear 4-year plan to land humans on the Moon in 2030

China has laid out a detailed plan for how the country would go about landing humans in the Moon in 2030. Wang Xiang, chief designer of China’s lunar exploration program, presented a plan of the missions that will be undertaken before a crewed landing ultimately happens. Speaking during the 7th Manned Space Symposium in Beijing, he shared that the country's space agency will first have a full-scale landing rehearsal without a crew. China will also send a spacecraft into lunar orbit.

Global Times reported that China will start with testing in Earth orbit with its Long March 10A. The rocket has no side boosters and will be used to launch the Mengzhou spacecraft with cargo to China’s Tiangong space station in early 2027. This will provide data on its workings and will demonstrate its reliability.

Then in 2028, an uncrewed test flight will be carried out using the larger, three-stage Long March 10 rocket and the Lanyue lunar lander. The aim of the mission is to land an uncrewed lander on the Moon and lift off again. The next steps will see the lander and Mengzhou take off on two separate Long March rockets for a full-scale mission in 2029. The two will attempt to dock in lunar orbit in the final tests.

Successful rehearsal will open doors to a human landing

A successful docking of Lanyue and Mengzhou will be crucial in China's ambition to land humans on the Moon. For the ultimate mission, three taikonauts will be chosen and sent to the Moon. Two of them will land on the lunar surface, while one will remain in the module. They will remain there for three Earth days and carry out extravehicular activities.

Soon after the comprehensive plan was announced, Chinese social media was flooded with videos showing preparations for the upcoming test flights at Wenchang spaceport. According to SpaceNews, videos showing large containers for the upcoming rehearsal were shared on the internet.

Meanwhile, NASA has talked about its ambitious Artemis 4 mission, as part of which it wants to land astronauts on the lunar surface in early 2028. But while China now has a clear plan, NASA still seems to be hunting for the perfect plan.