China lays out plan to land astronauts on the Moon before 2030

Summary

China has unveiled an official roadmap for a crewed Moon landing. Universe Today reports that on November 3, Wang Xiang, deputy chief designer of China's crewed space program and chief designer of its lunar exploration program, issued an official statement detailing plans for a crewed Moon mission. Space.com reports that China aims to land astronauts on the Moon 'before 2030', a milestone NASA hopes to reach in 2028, and asks whether NASA can still win the race. Smithsonian reports that China intends to launch three uncrewed test missions followed by a human lunar landing within the next few years, and notes that some experts doubt NASA's 2028 timeline.

Timeline

1. Universe Today

   4 Nov 2026, 21:29 UTCSource ↗

   Universe Today reports that on November 3, Wang Xiang, deputy chief designer of China's crewed space program and chief designer of its lunar exploration program, unveiled an official statement detailing plans for a crewed mission to the Moon.

2. Space.com

   5 Nov 2026, 13:00 UTCSource ↗

   Space.com reports that China has laid out its roadmap for landing astronauts on the Moon 'before 2030', a milestone NASA hopes to achieve in 2028.

3. Smithsonian

   5 Nov 2026, 19:32 UTCSource ↗

   Smithsonian reports that China intends to launch three uncrewed test missions followed by a human lunar landing within the next few years, and that some experts doubt NASA's hope to send humans to the Moon in 2028.