China astronauts to land on the Moon in 2030
By Shen Shiwei from The China Briefing
Great stride for mankind?
China scientists will be making a landing on the moon in 2030.
That should be 61 years after the first Apollo 11’s crew mission on the moon.
Already Chinese scientists are planning Two Crewed Space Missions for 2026, as warm up to the anticipated 2030 Lunar Landing.
China Manned Space Agency has unveiled its crewed space plan for the year 2026, with two manned space flights and one cargo resupply mission.
Astronauts from China’s Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions are expected to join space station missions as early as this year, while one member of the Shenzhou-23 crew will carry out a one-year orbital stay test.
Aiming for China’s first crewed lunar landing by 2030, development of key lunar mission hardware is reportedly proceeding steadily.
China plans to push ahead with two major space missions in 2026.
This is expanding the use and development of its space station and advancing its crewed lunar exploration program, according to the China Manned Space Agency.
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.
According to reports from Beijing, China will also deepen international cooperation: one Pakistani astronaut will conduct short-term scientific experiments for Pakistan aboard the space station, as a payload specialist.
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.
China is also stepping up international cooperation in human spaceflight.
In 2025, 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.
The history of moon landings
So far, it is believed that twelve astronauts have managed to land on the Moon.
This was accomplished with two pilot-astronauts flying a Lunar Module on each of six NASA missions.
The missions were carried out in 41 months, within a period starting from 20 July 1969.
It began with Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on Apollo 11 and concluded on 14 December 1972 with Gene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt aboard the Apollo 17.
Essentially Cernan was the last man to step off the lunar surface.
Now Chinese astronauts intend to repeat the mission in 2030. This time possibly with more advanced equipment.