China completes the first tethered test of the Lanyue lunar lander.
China took a step closer to the Moon, with the first short test for their crewed lunar lander.
The test was completed on Wednesday, August 6th at a facility in China’s northern Hebei Province, and lasted just under 30 seconds. The tethered test successfully demonstrated the integration and performance of key systems, simulating descent, guidance, control and engine shutdown. This would be the crucial phase for a crewed lunar mission. This marks the first test for a China’s Manned (crewed) Space Agency (CMSA’s) human-rated lander.
"For our manned space missions, we must ensure that astronauts land on the lunar surface very smoothly, which necessitates high standards for the lander's cushioning and performance," says Huang Zhen (CASC) in a recent interview (above video). "Every bit of weight has to play a role in several functions, so we have to achieve ultimate in integrated design and lightweight construction."
The lander consists of a lower propulsion stage, and an upper propulsion crewed module, very similar in configuration to NASA’s Lunar Module (LM) used in the Apollo program. Lanyue is Chinese for ‘embracing the Moon.’ The module would carry two taikonauts (Chinese astronauts) to the lunar surface, and serve as a habitation ‘base camp’ unit for short stays on the Moon.
The lander-orbiter configuration is similar to China’s successful Chang’e-5 and Chang’e-6 sample return missions. However, Lanyue will take the propulsion stage down to the lunar surface, rather than leaving it parked in lunar orbit. Like the later Apollo landers, Lanyue will also carry a rover, attached to the rover’s external wall.
China’s Mengzhou (dream vessel) spacecraft will act as the command module to ferry crew from the Earth to the Moon and back.
Lanyue has a landing mass of about 26,000 kilograms to the lunar surface, versus 10,330 kilograms for Apollo’s LM. SpaceX’s HLS Starship would be capable of delivering up to 100,000 kilograms to the lunar surface. Most likely, CNSA’s heavy-lift Long March-10 rocket (set for an inaugural launch in 2027) will be involved with China’s first crewed missions to the Moon, set for the early 2030s.
Now, Lanyue will need to perform more tests on Earth and space, ahead of putting crew aboard and sending it to the Moon. Apollo went through the same lengthy process in the 1960s, before LM-1 made its first uncrewed flight in low Earth orbit in January 1968 on Apollo 5.
China’s Chang’e lunar program has been a huge success, and will be followed up with the Chang’e-7 lunar surface survey in 2026. China has also fielded its Tianwen-1 all-in-one, Mars orbiter, lander and rover mission in 2020-2021, and has ambitions for its own sample return mission Tianwen-3 in 2028. CNSA also launched its first asteroid sample return/comet rendezvous mission, Tianwen-2 just earlier this year.
And closer to home, China’s private company Space Epoch carried out its first successful water booster landing earlier this year. Meanwhile in low Earth orbit, China continues its crewed presence aboard the Tiangong Space Station. Watch for the launch of China’s own answer to the Hubble Space Telescope, Xuntian launching in early 2026. Xuntian will have a unique location, keeping station with Tiangong. This will make it accessible for repairs and upgrades over its lifespan.
It’s a busy time for China in spaceflight. It’s some ways off, but it will be fascinating to follow Lanyue’s path to the Moon in the coming decade.