Chinese officials outlined a four-stage plan for a crewed Moon landing before 2030 at the Seventh Manned Spaceflight Conference in Beijing. The proposed sequence starts with an uncrewed test in early 2027, followed by lunar tests and an orbit-docking rehearsal; every date is a target.
Four target stages in China’s lunar timeline
| Stage | Target window | Vehicles | Planned task |
| 1 | Early 2027 | Long March 10A and Mengzhou | Uncrewed test in low Earth orbit |
| 2 | 2028 | Long March 10 and Lanyue | Uncrewed lunar descent-and-ascent test |
| 3 | 2029 | Two Long March 10 launches carrying Mengzhou and Lanyue | Rendezvous and docking in lunar orbit |
| 4 | Before 2030 | Two Long March 10 launches | Crewed lunar landing |
Low Earth orbit is the region around Earth where China’s Tiangong space station operates. The first planned flight would test Mengzhou there without a crew. The next stage would test Lanyue’s descent to and ascent from the lunar surface, also without astronauts aboard.
Why the plan uses two launches
The proposed landing architecture sends the crew spacecraft and lunar lander up on separate rockets, then brings them together in lunar orbit. That meeting and connection is a rendezvous and docking. The 2029 rehearsal is meant to practice that step before the planned crewed landing.
The plan describes Long March 10A as a single-core configuration without boosters. The lunar version of Long March 10 has a core stage and two boosters. In the final mission, separate launches would carry the crew vehicle and lander.
The sequence does not include a crewed lunar flyby or orbit mission like Apollo 8 or Artemis II. Mengzhou is expected to carry crews to Tiangong in low Earth orbit.
China’s target compared with NASA’s
NASA’s reported target for a crewed lunar landing is 2028. U.S. lander development could push a landing to 2030 or later. China’s target is before 2030, so the stated schedules alone do not settle which program will land first.
