China has successfully achieved three lunar landings to date, but none of these missions have involved human presence on the lunar surface. However, the Asian giant is determined to change this narrative and has set a bold goal of sending its first taikonauts to the Moon before the end of this decade. This ambitious plan was recently confirmed by officials at the China Manned Space Engineering Office (CMSEO), who are confident about their progress towards this historic milestone. The mission envisions sending two taikonauts to the Moon for a period of approximately six hours. They will then return to the lunar orbiter, where a third colleague will be waiting to commence the journey back to Earth. The crew’s launch site is currently under construction near China’s coastal spaceport at Wenchang, Hainan island, located approximately 1,400 miles south of Beijing. China’s lunar ambitions extend beyond this initial mission. The nation aspires to establish a permanent international research station on the lunar South Pole by 2040. This endeavor mirrors NASA’s own plans to send astronauts to the Moon in 2026 as part of the Artemis program, which also includes the construction of a permanent lunar base. Both China and the United States are keenly interested in locating water on the Moon, as it could be converted into fuel for future deep space rocket launches. Conducting missions from the Moon would be more efficient than from Earth due to the weaker gravity, making it easier to lift off. China’s renewed focus on lunar exploration coincides with the recent launch of a new three-person crew to its Tiangong space station in low-Earth orbit. This relatively new facility underscores China’s growing space-based ambitions and its determination to become a leading player in space exploration.
China Plans to Send Taikonauts to the Moon Before 2030
