As the third nation to send humans into space, China is transforming our Moon into its next frontier. The country is now developing a powerful new rocket designed to carry taikonauts to the lunar surface.
China has achieved remarkable strides in space exploration recently. The China National Space Administration (CNSA) made history by landing a rover on the Moon's far side—a global first. On July 28, it launched the Tianwen-1 mission to Mars, featuring an orbiter and surface rover. China is also preparing its Tiangong space station to succeed the International Space Station.
China's boldest goal: crewed landings on the Moon. Two years ago, CNSA unveiled the Long March 9 super-heavy launcher for these missions. At the China Space Conference in Fuzhou on September 18, officials announced a shift to an even more advanced rocket.
This unnamed rocket stands 87 meters tall, capable of sending a 27.6-ton spacecraft into trans-lunar orbit. With a takeoff weight of about 2,200 tons—nearly triple that of the Long March 5—it features three 5-meter-diameter cores, akin to the U.S. Delta IV Heavy and Falcon Heavy.
Powered by YF-100K engines using liquid oxygen and kerosene (under development for Long March 5), it's being engineered at Beijing's China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT). No test flights are scheduled yet.
Details on the lunar program remain preliminary. China aimed for manned missions by 2036, with a lunar station possibly by 2030. Yet challenges persist. Zhou Yanfei, deputy general designer of China's human spaceflight program, noted:
"We still lack survivability in extraterrestrial circumstances. We don’t have experience here yet, nor ground support capabilities. Our missions have focused on low Earth orbit."
This ambitious endeavor could make China the second nation—after the U.S.—to land humans on the Moon. The Soviet Union attempted it but fell short.
