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A Long March-2F carrier rocket carrying three astronauts bound for China’s orbital space station lifts off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Inner Mongolia on Oct. 26, 2023.
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China’s space agency has revealed the names of the spacecraft it hopes will take Chinese astronauts to the moon later this decade.
In a weekend news release, the China Manned Space Agency said development was “progressing well” on the Mengzhou, or Dream Vessel, spacecraft, the Lanyue, or Embracing the Moon, lander, and a carrier rocket. super heavy loader called Long. March 10th.
The ships are part of an ambitious program that Beijing hopes will confirm its status as a major space power.
China has not released a date for its long-awaited manned lunar mission, but has said it would take place by 2030 as it aspires to become the second country to take astronauts to the moon.
The Mengzhou spacecraft consists of a reentry module that will house the astronauts and serve as a control center, and a service module for the power and propulsion systems. The vehicle will have a length of almost 9 meters and a weight of 22 tons, according to state media.
The Lanyue lunar lander will accommodate two astronauts and a 200-kilogram rover, according to reports.
The names of the spacecraft were chosen by a group of experts from nearly 2,000 proposals requested from the public, according to the space agency.
“Lanyue” first appeared in a poem written by the founder of the People’s Republic of China, Mao Zedong, in 1965, and “symbolizes the aspiration and confidence of the Chinese people in their exploration of the universe and their expedition to the moon,” the agency said.
The name Mengzhou is linked to “the Chinese nation’s dream of landing on the moon,” he added.
Beijing’s space program has long been associated with leader Xi Jinping’s “Chinese dream.” “rejuvenate” the country and reach a place of power and prestige at a global level, including in its technological capabilities.
China’s lunar ambitions come as more countries are ramping up their space programs considering the potential scientific benefit, national prestige and access to resources and greater deep space exploration that successful lunar missions and other developments could bring.
The United States is ramping up its lunar program and NASA announced last month its plan to take astronauts to the moon in 2026, one year behind its original schedule. It would be a first for the United States since its Apollo missions in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Last week, the Odysseus commercial lunar lander developed by Intuitive Machines became the first spacecraft manufactured in the United States land on the moon in 50 years.
In January, Japan’s “moon sniper” The explorer robot landed on the lunar surface. The landing made Japan the third country this century, and the fifth in history, to land on the Moon. India joined that list last year.
Beijing has made progress on moon landings in recent years with its unmanned Chang’e missions, which made history in 2019 when China became the first country to successfully land on the Moon. far side of the moon.
The next unmanned mission, Chang’e-6will launch later this year and bring the first samples ever collected from the far side of the moon.
China also hopes its next missions will collect data toward another lunar goal: building a permanent international research station at the lunar south pole by 2040.