China Declares the Identity of the Spacecraft's Lunar Landing Crew

Dream Ship

The aspirational plans of China's space agency, which are swiftly taking shape, involve bringing humans to the lunar surface.

The crewed capsule and lander that the China Manned Space Agency will use to descend the crew to the surface have names attached to them, as per a recent announcement.

According to CNN, Mao Zedong's 1965 poem "Embracing the Moon" is referenced in the name of the lander, Lanyue, which also refers to the capsule, Mengzhou, which means "dream vessel."

A staggering 22 metric tons will be the weight of the nearly 30-foot-long Mengzhou spacecraft, according to the announcement. Fitting two astronauts and a 440-pound rover, the lander has ample room. It says that their growth is "progressing well."

Although this is a very ambitious plan, the country might be able to accomplish its goal of sending humans back to the lunar surface by 2030 given its recent progress, which includes being the first to land a spacecraft on the Moon's far side in 2019.

Take Off for the Moon

China plans to launch Chang'e 8, a mission that will involve a robot that will assemble bricks made of moon soil into an early prototype habitat of a future research station on the Moon's south pole, as early as 2028. This mission will take place prior to the crew members' arrival on the Moon.

The US is likewise attempting to land an astronaut as early as 2026, but it's still unclear if NASA will be able to outpace China due to continuous delays and budgetary restrictions.

Using its Smart Lander for Investigating Moon, Japan also made history last month by becoming the fifth nation to gently land on the moon, albeit in an unfavorable orientation.

China aims to gather and retrieve the first samples taken from the Moon's far side later this year, prior to starting its crewed mission to the lunar surface.

It goes without saying that the complexity of launching a large heavy-lift rocket with astronauts on board has significantly, and only time will tell if and when the nation's continued efforts will be rewarded.

It's worth keeping an eye on, though, considering what China's space agency has already accomplished.