China's moon shot: 2030 crewed lunar mission tests on pace, space agency says
China's plans to put astronauts on the moon by 2030 remain on track with large-scale tests proceeding 'as scheduled', following the completion of early trials for lunar landing spacecraft duo Mengzhou and Lanyue, according to Chinese space authorities.
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The current timeline to land the first humans on the moon this century still placed China's space programme behind the United States.
'The overall development of various manned lunar missions … is progressing smoothly. The
Long March 10 and Mengzhou spacecraft are carrying out prototype development and testing as planned,' Lin Xiqiang, deputy director of the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA), said on Wednesday.
Component tests that have been completed for the crewed lunar mission include thermal evaluations of the Lanyue lunar lander, which will transport crew members from the spacecraft to the moon's surface.
The agency was set to conduct the first comprehensive assessments of mission components, Lin said during an event to announce the Shenzhou 20 mission to China's Tiangong space station, which was expected to launch on Thursday.
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