China publicly discloses plan for a lunar landing within three years

China has publicly outlined a sequence of missions intended to put astronauts on the Moon before 2030, offering a clearer way to track a program that has previously been difficult for outsiders to assess. The plan uses separate launches for the crew spacecraft and lunar lander, which would meet in lunar orbit. An uncrewed Long March 10A rocket and Mengzhou spacecraft are targeted for a low-Earth-orbit test in early 2027. In 2028, a Long March 10 is to test the Lanyue lander, including landing on and lifting off from the lunar surface. Two rockets would then launch in 2029 to demonstrate an uncrewed docking in lunar orbit, followed by a crewed landing mission before 2030. The published sequence does not include a crewed lunar flyby or orbit mission comparable to Apollo 8 or Artemis II.

The schedule sharpens competition with the United States, which targets a crewed landing by 2028 but faces uncertainty over its lunar landers, being developed by SpaceX and Blue Origin. China has demonstrated relevant progress: in 2025 it tested a 26-ton Lanyue mock-up using tethers to simulate lunar gravity, and the Mengzhou spacecraft for the planned 2027 test has reached its launch site. Still, public milestones reveal little about technical readiness inside China’s program. The rivalry extends beyond who returns first: both countries aim to build lasting lunar capabilities, particularly near the south pole, while NASA has also committed to developing a lunar surface base over the coming decade.