// SPACE.COM — SPAZIO & SCIENZA
China lays out plans to land astronauts on the moon 'before 2030.' Can NASA still win this race?
The Chinese roadmap includes an uncrewed lunar landing in 2028.
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China has given us some details about the epic moon landing it plans to pull off a few years from now.
Chinese officials laid out the roadmap for its crewed lunar campaign at the 7th Manned Space Symposium, which was held Oct. 31 and Nov. 1 in Beijing. The campaign consists of four missions, culminating in a crewed touchdown "before 2030," according to media reports.
That timeline — which is consistent with previous statements made by the China Manned Space Agency — keeps the pressure on the U.S., which aims to put its own astronauts down on the moon in 2028, via NASA's Artemis program.
Leaked slide confirms the four-mission progression toward China’s crewed lunar landing:
🚀2027: Maiden flight of Long March 10A carrying Mengzhou CSS cargo resupply mission, to validate the new human-rated vehicle and Mengzhou’s orbital operations in LEO.
🚀2028: First flight of the heavier CZ-10 with an uncrewed Lanyue lander performing a lunar descent and ascent test, exercising the lander’s propulsion and guidance.
🚀🚀2029: Dual CZ-10 launches of Mengzhou and Lanyue for a full-scale lunar-orbit rehearsal, demonstrating rendezvous, docking, and integrated operations.
🚀🚀Before the end of 2030: Dual CZ-10 crewed lunar landing mission.November 1, 2026
The first mission in China's four-part lunar campaign is scheduled to fly in 2027, according to CNSpaceflight, an X account that keeps a close eye on China's activities in space. The outlet cited an X user who shared a presentation slide of the plan.
That launch — the first of of China's new Long March 10A rocket — will send an uncrewed Mengzhou spacecraft to low Earth orbit (LEO) for a series of tests. Mengzhou, whose name means "Dream Vessel," is the next-gen crew capsule that will carry Chinese astronauts to lunar orbit.
Mission number two, launching in 2028, will involve a different set of hardware — the more powerful Long March 10 rocket and the Lanyue ("Embracing the Moon") lunar lander. This will also be an uncrewed flight, and it will mark the debut of the Long March 10, which will send Lanyue to orbit around the moon. If all goes to plan, Lanyue will touch down on the moon and then launch itself back to lunar orbit.
Mission number three, flying in 2029, will also target an uncrewed lunar landing, but it will feature two Long March 10 launches — one apiece for Mengzhou and Lanyue. The two spacecraft will conduct a rendezvous and docking rehearsal in lunar orbit, then separate for Lanyue's trip down to the surface.