JIUQUAN SATELLITE LAUNCH CENTER, China — China’s space program is on the cusp of sending the Shenzhou-18 crew into low-Earth orbit, as part of its ambitious plan to put humans on the moon by 2030. The China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) introduced the three astronauts at a press conference on Wednesday. They are: Commander Ye Guangfu, a veteran astronaut who participated in the Shenzhou-13 mission in 2021; and first-time astronauts Li Cong and Li Guangsu. The crew’s spacecraft is scheduled to lift off at 8:59 p.m. (1259 GMT) from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, located on the edge of the Gobi Desert. They will replace the Shenzhou-17 team, which has been stationed on China’s Tiangong space station since October. The Shenzhou-18 crew will spend approximately six months on the space station, conducting scientific experiments, installing debris protection equipment, and carrying out payload experiments. According to Lin Xiqiang, deputy director of the CMSA, the astronauts will also engage in popularizing science education. Lin further revealed China’s plans to provide access to its space station to foreign astronauts and space tourists. ‘We will accelerate the research and promotion of the participation of foreign astronauts and space tourists in flights with China’s space station,’ he stated. ‘We definitely expect to see astronauts of different identities on China’s space station.’ China constructed its own space station after being excluded from the International Space Station, primarily due to concerns raised by the United States regarding the involvement of the People’s Liberation Army, the military wing of the Chinese Communist Party. The Tiangong space station is anticipated to receive two cargo spacecraft missions and two manned spaceflight missions this year. In 2003, China launched its first manned space mission, becoming the third country to successfully put a human in space using its own resources, after the former Soviet Union and the United States. While the U.S. space program is believed to maintain a significant advantage over China in terms of funding, supply chains, and capabilities, China has made notable strides in certain areas. It has achieved the first sample retrieval from the lunar surface in decades and successfully landed a rover on the far side of the moon, a region that has received less exploration. The U.S., the only nation to have previously sent astronauts to the moon, aims to return a crew to the lunar surface by the end of 2025. This renewed commitment to crewed missions is supported by private sector companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin. Currently, only four countries – the U.S., Russia, China, and India – have successfully landed spacecraft on the moon.
China Prepares for Shenzhou-18 Mission, Aiming for Lunar Exploration by 2030
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