China has officially intensified its lunar exploration timeline, announcing a major acceleration in infrastructure development critical to its ambitious manned moon mission program. The China Manned Space Agency confirmed on Friday that 2026 will witness a full-throttle push to complete essential facilities at the Wenchang Space Launch Center in Hainan province.
The comprehensive development encompasses not only launch infrastructure but also sophisticated ground support systems including advanced telemetry, tracking networks, command centers, communications technology, and landing site preparations. This infrastructure surge supports the concurrent development of the program’s flagship vehicles: the Long March 10 heavy-lift carrier rocket, the Mengzhou crew spacecraft, and the Lanyue lunar lander.
Technical milestones already achieved include successful pad abort and maximum dynamic pressure escape tests for the Mengzhou spacecraft, along with comprehensive landing and takeoff demonstrations for the Lanyue lander. The Long March 10 rocket has completed critical static ignition and low-altitude flight tests, demonstrating substantial progress toward operational readiness.
The mission architecture involves a sophisticated orbital dance: two separate Long March 10 launches will deliver the Lanyue lander and Mengzhou spacecraft to lunar orbit. After achieving orbital synchronization, the vehicles will dock, allowing two astronauts to transfer to the lander for descent to the lunar surface. Surface operations will utilize the Tansuo rover for scientific exploration and sample collection before the crew returns to the orbiting spacecraft for Earth return.
In a parallel development, the agency revealed that astronauts selected from Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions will likely undertake their inaugural spaceflights this year. This historic inclusion follows China’s June 2024 selection of its fourth astronaut cohort, which for the first time included payload specialists from these regions. The 2026 schedule also includes two manned spaceflights and one cargo mission to the Tiangong space station, underscoring China’s broad commitment to space exploration.