Chinese space officials said this weekend that the country plans to land astronauts on the Moon before 2030, outlining a four-step sequence of tests and dual-rocket launches, Ars Technica reported¹.

At the Seventh Manned Spaceflight Conference in Beijing, officials including Wang Xiang, chief designer for the lunar exploration program, described a lunar-orbit rendezvous similar to NASA’s Apollo missions, with crew and lander flying separately because China lacks a Saturn V-class rocket¹.

Slides shared on social media, as reported by Ars Technica, list an uncrewed Long March 10A and Mengzhou spacecraft test to low Earth orbit in early 2027; an uncrewed Long March 10 and Lanyue lander test with descent and ascent from the lunar surface in 2028; concurrent Long March 10 launches of an uncrewed Mengzhou and Lanyue that would dock in lunar orbit in 2029; and a dual Long March 10 launch with crew on Mengzhou for a landing before 2030¹.

The published plan does not include a crewed lunar flyby or orbit-and-return mission like Apollo 8 or Artemis II¹. Ars Technica said Mengzhou would still fly people closer to Earth on trips to the Tiangong space station¹.

NASA has set a 2028 target for returning people to the Moon, Ars Technica said, while noting that U.S. lander work by SpaceX and Blue Origin could push an American landing to 2030 or later¹. The outlet said China tested a high-fidelity 26-ton Lanyue mockup in August 2025 near Beijing, and that Mengzhou hardware for the 2027 test has arrived at Wenchang¹.

Ars Technica said NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman has canceled the Lunar Gateway and some Space Launch System upgrades and last week described plans to help Blue Origin’s lander by boosting Orion into low lunar orbit¹. Both programs, the report said, are also working toward longer-term presence near the Moon’s south pole¹.

Sources

1. Ars TechnicaChina releases timeline for lunar landing on the Moon, targeting "before 2030"12:10 PM

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