Wang Xiang, deputy chief designer of China's crewed spaceflight program, laid out a concrete flight plan for a crewed Moon landing by 2030 at the 7th Manned Spaceflight Academic Conference, which opened in Beijing on October 31, 2026. China will use two Long March 10 rockets to send the Lanyue lunar lander and the Mengzhou crewed spacecraft to the Moon separately, then dock them in lunar orbit. Of three astronauts, two will descend to the lunar surface and return to lunar orbit after completing their activities. Ground tests of the lander and a low-altitude flight test of the rocket are complete, but the first flights of the Long March 10, Mengzhou and Lanyue still lie ahead. China also said it will fly the spacecraft and lander uncrewed before attempting a crewed landing. Meanwhile, the United States completed the Artemis II crewed lunar flyby in April 2026 and is aiming for a landing in 2028. Comparing the two programs shows what technical milestones China has reached so far and what challenges remain before a crewed landing.
Two Long March 10 rockets launch the spacecraft and lander separately, to dock in lunar orbit
According to Xinhua, Wang Xiang described China's landing approach as "two launches and docking in lunar orbit." Two Long March 10 rockets will launch Lanyue and Mengzhou separately and place them on a trans-lunar trajectory from Earth toward the Moon. The two vehicles will meet and dock in lunar orbit, after which astronauts will transfer from Mengzhou to Lanyue and descend to the surface. This approach separates the spacecraft that travels between Earth and the Moon from the vehicle that handles landing on and taking off from the Moon.
According to CCTV, three astronauts will fly aboard Mengzhou, and two of them will transfer to Lanyue and head for the lunar surface. The remaining astronaut will stay in lunar orbit aboard Mengzhou. After finishing their surface activities, the two will lift off in Lanyue and dock again with Mengzhou, which waits in orbit. All three will then return to Earth aboard Mengzhou. In short, Mengzhou handles the round trip between Earth and lunar orbit, while Lanyue handles the round trip between lunar orbit and the surface.
Wang cited compatibility with current technology and facilities, as well as room for future lunar exploration, as reasons for choosing this approach. According to Xinhua, he said the method of the two vehicles "shaking hands" in lunar orbit is advantageous for sustained crewed lunar exploration. Developing the spacecraft and lander separately clarifies the role of each and makes it easier to standardize the vehicles. The plan also envisions building a family of spacecraft that can be operated over the long term.
The plan relies on the large Long March 10 rocket. According to specifications reported by China Daily in 2024, the Long March 10 is 92.5 m tall, has a liftoff mass of about 2,189 tonnes and liftoff thrust of about 2,678 tonnes, and can send more than 27 tonnes to trans-lunar orbit. A variant without boosters, the Long March 10A, is about 67 m tall, with a liftoff mass of about 740 tonnes, liftoff thrust of about 892 tonnes, and a low-Earth-orbit capacity of more than 14 tonnes. The Long March 10A is designed so that its first stage can be reused. For the crewed lunar landing, two of the larger Long March 10 rockets will send Lanyue and Mengzhou to the Moon.
Ground tests of the lander and a low-altitude rocket flight are done; first flights of the three main vehicles are still to come
According to Xinhua's October 31 report, China has so far completed, in sequence, a zero-altitude abort test of Mengzhou, a landing and takeoff test of Lanyue, a low-altitude flight test of the Long March 10, and a maximum dynamic pressure abort test of Mengzhou. The first flights of the Long March 10, Mengzhou and Lanyue, however, will be carried out as planned in the future. In other words, the major tests announced as complete so far were ground and low-altitude verifications, and full-scale flight tests of the three main vehicles remain ahead.
The Lanyue landing and takeoff test was conducted on August 6, 2025, at an extraterrestrial landing test site in Huailai County, Hebei Province. According to the Chinese government website, the test successfully verified an integrated sequence combining landing and takeoff. It checked the whole series of operations, from landing on a simulated lunar surface to lifting off again, at a ground facility, marking an important step in validating the technology needed for landing and takeoff on the Moon. The test was not, however, conducted in an actual lunar environment.
A flight test combining the Long March 10 and Mengzhou took place at the Wenchang launch site on February 11, 2026. According to Xinhua, the Long March 10 ignited and ascended at 11:00 Beijing time (12:00 Japan time). When it reached maximum dynamic pressure conditions, Mengzhou received a command from the rocket, separated and escaped. The Long March 10's first stage and Mengzhou's return capsule then splashed down in their designated sea areas. The test thus verified the rocket's low-altitude flight together with the spacecraft's in-flight emergency escape function.
Maximum dynamic pressure refers to the condition in which the dynamic pressure of the air acting on a vehicle in flight peaks. Because dynamic pressure changes with speed and air density as a rocket climbs, an abort test under this condition is important for confirming that the spacecraft can separate safely even under heavy aerodynamic loads. In this test, Mengzhou was verified to separate and escape from the rocket during actual flight. The zero-altitude abort test completed earlier, by contrast, simulated an emergency escape from the launch pad at zero altitude; the two tests confirm safety at different phases of flight.
Xinhua described the February test as the first flight involving ignition of the Long March 10 and China's first abort test under maximum dynamic pressure conditions. It also described it as the first test in which a Chinese crewed spacecraft's return capsule and a rocket's first stage splashed down at sea, and the first use of a newly built launch pad. At the October conference, Wang also said the low-altitude flight "achieved the country's first rocket reentry and recovery." The rocket and spacecraft used in the test were both early prototype vehicles, however, and the rocket consisted only of a first stage. Because the flight was not aimed at reaching orbit, Xinhua continues to treat the Long March 10's maiden flight as a future event.
Full uncrewed verification before a crewed landing: China's two basic principles
At the October conference, Wang presented two basic principles for building the test plan toward a crewed lunar landing. According to CCTV, the first is to verify, as far as possible, technologies needed in lunar orbit beforehand in low Earth orbit using the space station. The second is to fly missions that will be crewed first without crews wherever possible. Both carry the qualifier "as far as possible," meaning that not every phase will be fully reproduced in advance.
In line with the first principle, China plans to operate low-Earth-orbit versions of the Long March 10 and Mengzhou first. According to Wang, a low-Earth-orbit variant of the Long March 10 will first launch a low-Earth-orbit version of Mengzhou on a mission to China's Tiangong space station. This stage will verify the rocket's basic technology and the spacecraft's reentry into Earth's atmosphere for return. The program will then move on to flights to the Moon using the lunar-landing versions of the Long March 10 and Mengzhou. Technologies that can be confirmed in low Earth orbit are verified first, and the program moves to lunar exploration in stages.
The second principle underlies the planned uncrewed test flights of Lanyue and Mengzhou. CCTV reported that both vehicles will fly uncrewed before the crewed landing to verify the full sequence needed. According to Wang, Lanyue will go through the entire planned crewed profile without a crew: launch, insertion into lunar orbit, docking with Mengzhou, landing and staying on the lunar surface, liftoff from the surface, and redocking with Mengzhou. By verifying key technologies in advance as far as possible, China aims to improve safety and reliability during crewed flight.
The uncrewed flights will also collect data on the lunar environment. Lanyue will gather information such as surface temperature, the state of lunar dust, and vehicle operation. China is also soliciting powered payloads for Lanyue from across the country, setting conditions of no more than 50 kg total mass and no more than 100 W total power consumption per mission. According to the call for proposals from the China Manned Space Agency, power consumption is specified as "in principle 100 W or less."
CCTV named the Long March 10 technology verification flight, the first flights of Mengzhou and Lanyue, and the flight of the uncrewed lunar probe Chang'e-7 as key upcoming missions. Xinhua and CCTV did not, however, give specific years for each mission. Ars Technica reported on November 2, based on images said to be conference presentation materials posted on social media, that a schedule had been shown for carrying out uncrewed test flights in stages from early 2027 through 2029. That schedule has not been confirmed in official reports, and the actual timing must await formal announcements.
The US has completed a crewed lunar flyby; China awaits first flights of its main vehicles
In the United States, Artemis II launched on April 1, 2026, from Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. According to NASA's records, the mission, the first crewed flight of the Orion spacecraft, took about 10 days to pass near the Moon and return to Earth. It did not enter lunar orbit, however; the flight profile was a lunar flyby. The four crew members, Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen of the Canadian Space Agency, splashed down off San Diego at 8:07 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on April 10. The farthest point from Earth reached during the flight was 252,756 miles (about 406,800 km).
Artemis III is planned to be a low-Earth-orbit technology demonstration rather than a flight to the Moon. According to NASA, it plans to send Orion with four astronauts into low Earth orbit in 2027 to conduct docking and other tests with test versions of the lunar landers being developed by Blue Origin and SpaceX. The mission is scheduled to last 14 days. Jeremy Parsons, manager of NASA's Artemis program, explained that testing in Earth orbit is intended to reduce risk before sending astronauts back to the lunar surface. At an October 23, 2026 briefing, NASA stated its aim of a US crewed landing in 2028, positioning Artemis IV as the first lunar landing mission.
The Chinese and US plans share the feature of launching the spacecraft and lander separately, but they differ in where the two vehicles dock. China will have Mengzhou and Lanyue meet in lunar orbit. Under NASA's revised operating plan, by contrast, SpaceX's Starship lunar lander waits in Earth orbit for Orion, and after the two dock, the combined vehicles head to a low lunar orbit. According to SpacePolicyOnline, Blue Origin's lunar lander Blue Moon MK2 is planned to rendezvous with Orion in lunar orbit.
The following timeline organizes completed tests and key upcoming missions for which officials have given timing. Because China's year-by-year test schedule has not been confirmed in official reports, schedules based on the presentation materials cited by Ars Technica are not included.
| Date | Country | Event | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug. 6, 2025 | China | Integrated landing and takeoff test of Lanyue in Huailai County, Hebei | Completed |
| Feb. 11, 2026 | China | Long March 10 low-altitude flight and Mengzhou emergency escape test at maximum dynamic pressure | Completed |
| Apr. 1–10, 2026 | US | Artemis II: four astronauts fly an approximately 10-day lunar flyby | Completed |
| Oct. 31, 2026 | China | Completed tests and future flight plans explained at the 7th Manned Spaceflight Academic Conference | Completed |
| 2027 | US | Artemis III: docking tests in low Earth orbit with test versions of two lunar landers | Planned |
| 2028 | US | Artemis IV: crewed lunar landing | Target |
| By 2030 | China | Two of three astronauts land on the Moon | Target |
The main tests China has announced as complete are the Lanyue landing and takeoff test in August 2025 and the Long March 10 low-altitude flight test in February 2026. Both were ground or low-altitude verifications, and the full-scale first flights of the Long March 10, Mengzhou and Lanyue still lie ahead. The United States, for its part, sent a crewed spacecraft near the Moon and brought it back in April 2026 with Artemis II. It now plans to verify docking with landers on Artemis III in 2027 and aims for a lunar landing in 2028.
The two countries' test plans also differ in the steps leading to a crewed landing. Ars Technica pointed out that China's plan does not include standalone crewed flights that orbit the Moon or pass near it, like Apollo 8 or Artemis II. Indeed, the upcoming missions introduced by Xinhua and CCTV do not list any crewed lunar orbital flight. In the published sequence, Mengzhou and Lanyue will be sent to the Moon uncrewed before crewed flights to verify docking in lunar orbit and landing and takeoff on the surface.
However, the landing dates, 2028 for the US and by 2030 for China, are both targets, and the possibility of delays remains. Regarding NASA's Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP), concerns have also been reported about the readiness of lunar landers for Artemis IV and beyond, and about the fact that only one uncrewed landing test is required of each company. The basic approach of reducing risk through staged verification before landing is common to the explanations of China's Wang Xiang and NASA's Jeremy Parsons.
What will matter most for China's crewed lunar landing program to advance to the next stage is whether the Long March 10 technology verification flight and the first flights of Mengzhou and Lanyue actually succeed. On the US side, the next key milestone is whether Orion and test versions of the two companies' lunar landers can dock in low Earth orbit on Artemis III in 2027. Both countries still have multiple technical challenges to overcome before a crewed lunar landing, and upcoming test results will shape the outlook for meeting their goals.