China advances efforts for lunar exploration, crewed moon landing

China's Chang'e-7 lunar exploration mission, scheduled for launch in the second half of 2026, will carry out environmental and resource surveys of the moon's south pole while advancing international cooperation in lunar exploration, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) said on Saturday.

Speaking at a press conference ahead of the launch of the Shenzhou-23 crewed mission, CMSA spokesperson Zhang Jingbo said the Chang'e-7 mission will adopt a comprehensive exploration approach involving orbiting, landing, roving and hopping.

The Chang'e-7 probe was delivered in April to the launch site in Hainan Province, where pre-launch preparations are now underway. "All related work is progressing steadily as planned," Zhang said.

China is also accelerating preparations for its goal of achieving a crewed lunar landing by 2030. According to Zhang, the country has integrated its existing crewed lunar landing and unmanned lunar exploration efforts into a unified lunar exploration project.

Earlier this year, China successfully completed a low-altitude demonstration and validation test for the Long March-10 rocket system, along with a maximum dynamic pressure abort flight test for the crewed spacecraft Mengzhou (Dream Vessel). Zhang said the tests laid a solid foundation for the development of a future reusable crewed space-Earth transportation system and for crewed moon landing.

China will continue advancing key missions, including a technical verification flight of the Long March-10, the maiden flights of the Mengzhou spacecraft and the lunar lander Lanyue (Embracing the Moon), Zhang added.

The country's space station is also expected to play a greater role in supporting lunar exploration efforts, which have already contributed to astronaut training and the validation of technologies needed for future moon missions.

Zhang cited the recently launched Tianzhou-10 cargo spacecraft as an example, noting that it carried experimental payloads designed to test technologies related to crewed lunar landings.

He added that China's next-generation space-Earth crew transportation system – consisting of the Long March-10A carrier rocket and the Mengzhou spacecraft – is being designed and developed in an integrated manner alongside the crewed Long March-10 rocket and the Mengzhou lunar landing spaceship required for moon missions.

Over the next two years, multiple space station missions will test and improve the system's reliability and technical readiness. The long-term operation of the space station will also provide "greater and more extensive" in-orbit platform support for future lunar research and deep-space exploration missions, Zhang said.

(With input from Xinhua)