China is targeting 2025 for the inaugural launch of its Long March 10 rocket alongside a newly developed crew spacecraft designed for lunar missions, according to a leading official. This announcement by the China Manned Space Engineering Office (CMSEO) arrives as the United States gears up for its Artemis 2 crewed mission around the moon, currently scheduled for February 2026.
Zhang Jingbo, spokesperson for China’s human spaceflight program, stated on Oct. 30 during a press conference ahead of the Shenzhou-21 mission at Jiuquan spaceport that, “The Long March 10 carrier rocket, the Mengzhou crew spacecraft, the Lanyue lunar lander, the Wangyu lunar suit, and the Exploration crew lunar rover have completed the main work of the prototype stage.”
Zhang added that upcoming logo design competitions will encompass not only the Tianzhou-10 cargo spacecraft and the Shenzhou-22 and Shenzhou-23 crewed spacecraft missions, but also the logo for the Mengzhou-1 crew spacecraft mission, signaling the planned initial launch of the spacecraft. It is anticipated that Mengzhou will be launched using a two-stage variant of the Long March 10.
While not explicitly stated, it’s expected that Mengzhou will launch aboard a two-stage variant of the Long March 10, purposed for low Earth orbit (LEO) missions. The complete, three-stage, 92.5-meter-tall Long March 10 intended for lunar voyages will employ three bundled 5.0-meter-diameter first stages, each powered by seven YF-100K variable thrust kerosene-liquid oxygen engines. Zhang did not specify whether the first flight would be crewed or uncrewed, or if the mission would dock with the Tiangong space station.
China previously launched a full-size, boilerplate version of Mengzhou—available in both LEO and lunar configurations—into a high altitude orbit during the test flight of the Long March 5B in 2020. China has affirmed its commitment to landing astronauts on the moon before 2030. Recent tests encompass static fires of a shortened first stage test article of the Long March 10 rocket, a pad abort test for the Mengzhou crew spacecraft, and a takeoff and landing test for the Lanyue crew lander.
Looking ahead, planned tests include a static fire of a full Long March 10 first stage and a low-altitude flight of the stage, integrated testing of the lunar lander, and thermal and maximum dynamic pressure escape tests for Mengzhou. CMSEO has not yet released a timeline for these activities.
Zhang reiterated China’s lunar landing objective by 2030, emphasizing the significant challenges involved. "Regarding the specific timeline, we remain steadfast in our goal of achieving a Chinese lunar landing by 2030. It should be noted that many new technologies still need to be verified, the product development workload is substantial, the quality requirements are high, the flight test schedule is tightly coordinated, and the progress is tight, presenting various risks and challenges," Zhang said.
The U.S. aims to return astronauts to the lunar surface in 2027 with the Artemis 3 mission. Meanwhile, preparations for NASA’s Artemis 2 launch could face delays due to the government shutdown. Zhang also mentioned CMSEO’s intention to foster commercial involvement in the human spaceflight program, particularly in areas like low-cost cargo transportation to Tiangong, crewed lunar rovers, and lunar remote sensing satellites.
"Going forward, the project will also adopt a commercial competition model in the development of scientific payloads such as the lunar surface science probe platform and the impact crater probe platform, further promoting the participation of commercial spacefaring companies in the project’s development," Zhang stated.