PRC Moon Shot!

China: Manned Lunar Programme Adnvances for 2030 Moon Landing! (4.3.2025)

After reaching their pre-set orbital positions, the Lanyue lander and the Mengzhou vessel will rendezvous and dock. Two crew members will enter the lander, which will then undock and descend toward the lunar surface for an engine-assisted soft landing.

On the moon, the cosmonauts will drive a Tansuo rover to carry out scientific tasks and collect samples. Upon completion of their assignments, they will return to the Lanyue module, which will fly them back to their spaceship waiting in lunar orbit.

In the final stage, the astronauts will carry the samples into the Mengzhou spacecraft, which will then undock and carry the crew back to Earth.

To prepare for the challenging adventure, China has selected its fourth group of cosmonauts, who are currently training for lunar landing and surface operations.

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Given that they will not only perform space station missions but also future manned lunar landing tasks, the training curriculum has been designed to focus on essential skills such as living and working in a weightless environment and maintaining health, as well as specialized skills like carrying out extravehicular activities, equipment maintenance and space science experiments. 

Furthermore, the training aims to enhance taikonauts’ capabilities for future manned lunar missions, including operating spacecraft, driving lunar rovers, identifying celestial bodies, conducting geological surveys and transitioning from weightlessness in space to walking under load on the lunar surface, the agency said.