Flight products for China's manned lunar landing under development: CMSA

JIUQUAN -- China's lunar landing mission is being carried out smoothly, as its component systems are under research and development as planned, announced a senior official with the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) at a press conference on Wednesday.

The project development of major flight products, such as the Long March-10 carrier rocket, the manned spacecraft Mengzhou, the lunar lander Lanyue and the lunar landing suit, has been completed, and their prototype production and tests are being carried out, said Lin Xiqiang, deputy director of the CMSA.

The development of mechanical and thermal test products for manned spacecraft and lander has been basically completed, various rocket engines are under ground tests, and the Wenchang manned lunar exploration launch site is under construction, he noted.

The proposals for manned lunar rover and lunar surface payloads solicited from the public are under selection, he added.

The deputy director said that unlike the space station mission, the lunar landing mission needs astronauts to master the operation of Mengzhou spacecraft and Lanyue lander under normal and emergency flight conditions, including rendezvous and docking of the spacecraft and lander, and manually avoiding obstacles during the lander's descent.

Other training requirements include spacecraft exit and entry on lunar surface, walking with weights under one-sixth Earth gravity condition, long-range driving of the lunar rover, as well as drilling, sampling and scientific investigation on lunar surface.

"Manned lunar exploration is a challenging, innovative and leading sci-tech program. We will proceed on the development and manufacturing in a coordinated way to achieve the mission objectives as scheduled," he added.

In 2023, China initiated the lunar landing mission of its manned lunar exploration program, aiming to realize manned lunar landing by 2030.