The third space power to have sent a human into space, China would like to impose its presence on our satellite. With this in mind, the country is working on developing several missions to land astronauts on the Moon as early as the early 2030s. However, this timeline could be shortened.
China has made tremendous strides in space over the past few years, but it's just the beginning. The country is developing an even greater ambition:that of landing humans on the Moon. With this in mind, officials from the Chinese and Russian space agencies recently signed an agreement to build a research station on the Moon.
According to the plan, China hopes to send its first astronauts there from the early 2030s using its super-heavy Long March 9 launcher , under development, but can it do it before? According to Ye Peijian, designer and principal engineer of the Chinese lunar program, it is indeed possible. “I personally believe that as long as the technological research for crewed moon landings continues, as long as the country is determined, a Chinese crewed moon landing is very possible by 2030 “, he told state television CCTV.
According to the researcher, such a mission is also of particular importance for China. “Facts have proven that countries that are at the forefront of space technology have advanced technologies in various areas of society " , did he declare. “A country cannot develop without these technologies. What we do is not only a matter of science, it is also related to the fate and status of our nation… To sum up, I think we should develop space technologies whether other countries do or not “.
As SpaceNews points out, Mr. Peijian's comments do not amount to an official statement from China officially approving a crewed lunar landing before then. Nonetheless, they "reflect recent progress and success and ongoing development of the various capabilities and components needed to safely land astronauts on the Moon and return them to Earth “.
To advance its schedule, China could modify two existing launchers of the Long March 5 to improve their performance, in parallel with the development of the super-heavy Long March 9 launcher. The idea was raised last June by Long Lehao, another senior official in the space industry. According to this plan, one of these rockets would launch a lunar lander into lunar orbit (currently in development) while the second would send the crew to meet it. The crew would then be transferred aboard the lander to land on the surface of the Moon.
Finally, let's remember that the return of the Americans to the Moon should not take place before 2025.
