![]() The schematic of the crewed lunar rover shows a two-seat vehicle with the engine in front and what appears to be mast-mounted instruments. This design was part of a mural depicting many different crewed lunar mission elements and features the same squat four-legged profile with twin fan solar panels. The lander has a familiar configuration that resembles the one depicted inside China's Manned Lunar Deep Exploration Project Office last year. There were also images of the first stage (and its launch abort system) and the lunar lander with the third stage launch vehicle attached. Zhang's slideshow included schematic diagrams of the CZ-10s profile featuring its three first-stage core rockets, each equipped with seven YF-100K engines. This rocket is highly anticipated since, like the Long March-9 (also in development), China has announced it will be "entirely reusable." As of 2023, engineers have successfully tested the YF-100K first-stage engine and other components, with an inaugural launch targeted for 2027. The design for the next-generation CZ-10 was first presented at the National Museum of China in February 2022 as part of the "30 Years of China's Manned Spaceflight" exhibit. Once complete, the taikonauts will take off in the lander's ascent vehicle and dock with the spacecraft, which will be used for the return trip to Earth.ĭuring the speech, Zhang presented pictures of some mission elements, including the Long March-10 (CZ-10) rockets, the lunar lander, and the lunar rover. These will conduct rendezvous and docking maneuvers in lunar orbit, allowing the taikonauts to transfer to the lander, descend, land in a predetermined area, and spend the next few days conducting scientific investigations and sample collection. Similarly, China plans to launch two Long March-10 rockets (currently in development) carrying the lunar lander and crewed spacecraft separately. Nevertheless, it will be followed by many more Artemis missions that will culminate with the creation of an orbiting platform (the Lunar Gateway) and a lunar base around the South Pole-Aitken Basin (the Artemis Base Camp). The mission is scheduled for 2025 but may be subject to delays depending on several factors. Once surface operations are complete, the two-person crew will return to orbit using the Starship HLS, where they will rendezvous again with the Orion, transfer aboard, and fly back to Earth. NASA's current mission architecture calls for an Orion spacecraft (with a crew of four) and the Human Landing System (HLS) provided by SpaceX (the Starship HLS) to launch separately, rendezvous in lunar orbit, and two astronauts to transfer aboard the HLS and use it to land on the surface. This mission architecture is similar to that of Artemis III, NASA's proposed mission that will land the "first woman and first person of color" on the moon, who will also be the first astronauts to touch the lunar surface since the Apollo Era ended over 50 ago. As Zhang illustrated with a series of animations, the mission will consist of two carrier rockets launching all the necessary elements to the moon, which will then rendezvous in orbit and land on the surface to conduct science operations. This included Deputy chief engineer Zhang Hailian of the China Manned Space Engineering (CMSE) office announcing the preliminary plan for China's first crewed lunar mission. ![]() On July 12, during the 9th China (International) Commercial Aerospace Forum in Wuhan, China, Chinese officials offered additional information about its crewed lunar exploration program. ![]()
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