China plans two crewed space missions for 2026, eyes 2030 moon landing

China plans to push ahead with two major space missions in 2026 – expanding the use and development of its space station and advancing its crewed lunar exploration program – the China Manned Space Agency said on Friday.

It is set to carry out two crewed spaceflights and one cargo resupply mission this year, while accelerating the construction of supporting facilities and equipment at the Wenchang spacecraft launch site for future moon missions.

Astronauts from China's Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions will be able to take part in space station flights as early as this year. One member of the upcoming Shenzhou-23 crew will also begin a year-long stay in orbit as part of an extended mission trial.

China has so far completed six crewed spaceflights, four cargo resupply missions and seven spacecraft return missions. Six astronaut crews have completed long-duration missions aboard the space station. Together, the 18 astronauts have conducted 13 spacewalks and multiple payload operations outside the station, with one spacewalk lasting nine hours – a world record.

Aiming to land Chinese astronauts on the moon before 2030, research and construction work for the lunar landing phase is progressing steadily. Key hardware – the Long March-10 carrier rocket, the crewed spacecraft Mengzhou and the lunar lander named Lanyue – has made smooth progress in development.

Major tests have also been completed, including escape tests for the spacecraft Mengzhou, landing and liftoff trials for the lunar lander, and ignition and low-altitude demonstration tests for the Long March-10 rocket.

China is also stepping up international cooperation in human spaceflight. 

Last year, China and Pakistan signed an agreement on astronaut selection and training. Under current mission plans, one Pakistani astronaut will take part in a short-term flight to the Chinese space station as a payload specialist, conducting scientific experiments on behalf of Pakistan.

The Chinese space station has so far hosted 267 scientific and application projects in orbit, covering areas such as space life sciences, microgravity physics and new space technologies.