China Reveals Four-Step Moon Plan as NASA Aims for a 2028 Landing

China has outlined a four-mission campaign that would end with astronauts landing on the moon "before 2030," according to media reports on a space symposium held Oct. 31 and Nov. 1 in Beijing. Space.com reported that the timeline matches earlier statements from the China Manned Space Agency and keeps pressure on NASA, which is aiming for its own crewed landing in 2028.

Details of the individual missions came largely from CNSpaceflight, an X account that tracks China's space program. It cited an X user who shared a presentation slide from the 7th Manned Space Symposium. The schedule has not been presented here as an official release, so dates and hardware details could change.

China's four missions, step by step

• 2027: The first flight would be the debut of the Long March 10A rocket. It would send an uncrewed Mengzhou spacecraft, whose name means "Dream Vessel," into low Earth orbit for tests. Mengzhou is the next-generation capsule meant to carry Chinese astronauts to lunar orbit.
• 2028: A second uncrewed flight would debut the more powerful Long March 10 rocket and the Lanyue lander, whose name means "Embracing the Moon." Lanyue would go into lunar orbit, land on the moon and then launch itself back to lunar orbit.
• 2029: A third uncrewed landing attempt would use two Long March 10 launches, one for Mengzhou and one for Lanyue. The two spacecraft would rehearse rendezvous and docking in lunar orbit before Lanyue descends to the surface.
• Before 2030: In the fourth mission, two Long March 10 rockets would launch a crewed Mengzhou and an uncrewed Lanyue. The vessels would dock in lunar orbit, and the astronauts would transfer to Lanyue for the landing.

According to CNSpaceflight, three astronauts would launch on Mengzhou and two would land on the moon. The pair would spend three days on the surface and conduct moonwalks on each of those days.

Why "before 2030" may be deliberate

CNSpaceflight suggested in a Nov. 2 post that the wording is chosen with care. It noted that 2029 coincides with the 80th anniversary of the current government, which could give leaders a strong incentive to land that year. But it called the technical schedule aggressive, given the new Long March 10 family, Mengzhou, Lanyue and dual-launch operations. A firm commitment to 2029, it argued, would carry political risk if a major test slipped. Saying "before 2030" leaves room for a slip without formally revising the goal. That is the outlet's interpretation, not an official explanation.

Where NASA stands

Space.com reported that NASA's Artemis II mission sent astronauts around the moon this past April. The agency is now preparing Artemis III, a crewed flight to low Earth orbit that will test rendezvous and docking between the Orion capsule and one or both of the program's commercial landers, SpaceX's Starship and Blue Origin's Blue Moon. NASA officials have said Artemis III is on track for summer 2027, though Space.com noted that on-time liftoff is far from guaranteed.

Both landers still have milestones to meet. Starship reached Earth orbit for the first time on Sept. 28 and has not yet shown the in-space refueling that any mission beyond Earth orbit would need. Blue Moon has not flown at all. Its first flight, an uncrewed test to the lunar surface, is scheduled for next spring.

If Artemis III goes well, NASA could move to Artemis IV, which would put astronauts down near the lunar south pole on either Starship or Blue Moon. NASA has not yet said which lander it will use. The agency is targeting early 2028 for that launch. If the schedule holds, it would be the first crewed lunar landing since Apollo 17 in 1972, and it would come before China's.

What this means for the race to the moon

For readers following the U.S.-China competition, the practical takeaway is that the two timelines are close and both depend on new, unproven hardware. NASA's plan relies on two commercial landers that have each yet to complete key demonstrations. China's plan relies on three new vehicles, a rocket family and a lander, all of which would debut in the next three years according to the reported schedule.

Space.com said the competition is about more than a first landing. Both NASA and China aim to build bases on the lunar surface over roughly the next decade. NASA and U.S. military officials have stressed that whichever country gets there first could claim the best locations and the best access to resources such as water ice. That country could also help set norms of behavior on the moon, which Space.com described as something of a Wild West at present.

Next milestones to watch, based on the reported schedules, are Blue Moon's first flight next spring, Artemis III in the summer of 2027 and the first Long March 10A launch with Mengzhou in 2027.

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Around Prague, based on reporting by Space.com