China’s human spaceflight agency, the China Manned Space Engineering Office (CMSEO), has issued a tender for a lunar remote sensing satellite. This satellite is crucial for supporting the country’s ambitious goal of achieving its first crewed moon landing before 2030 and subsequent missions. The tender, published February 14th, invites domestic enterprises and institutions to bid, with initial bids due by March 8th.
The planned satellite’s description offers insight into China’s lunar exploration strategy. “The lunar remote sensing satellite aims to obtain high-precision topographic and geomorphic data of the moon’s low-latitude regions, map key mineral resource distributions, and identify characteristic minerals. The satellite will support China’s first crewed lunar landing and subsequent missions,” the announcement states. This focus on low latitudes suggests a low inclination or polar orbit, with an emphasis on observing equatorial areas.
This approach mirrors the U.S. Apollo missions, differing significantly from the Artemis program's focus on the lunar south pole. China's past robotic landings, such as Chang'e-4 and Chang'e-6, targeted mid-latitudes. The upcoming Chang'e-7 mission, planned for 2026, will attempt a polar landing with sub-hundred-meter precision, supported by Queqiao-2. The new orbiter will likely provide frequent observations of potential landing sites.
The emphasis on mineral resource mapping aligns with China’s long-term plans for lunar exploration and resource utilization, particularly its leadership in the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) program. The tender announcement indicates a potential opening to commercial entities, but excludes joint bids and subcontracting, suggesting a measured approach to private sector involvement. This follows recent moves allowing commercial participation in the Chang'e-8 mission.
While the tender is not open to international entities, despite the ILRS’s international nature, international cooperation is progressing, mainly at the payload level. Pakistan will contribute a rover to the Chang'e-8 mission, and a Turkish university is involved in another payload project. China aims to build a lunar satellite constellation for comprehensive support of long-term exploration.
China is also actively developing the necessary hardware for its crewed landing, including the Long March 10 rocket, the Mengzhou crew spacecraft, the Lanyue lunar lander, extravehicular suits, and an unpressurized crew rover. Construction of new launch facilities at the Wenchang Satellite Launch Center is proceeding as planned.