More than 50 years after the last time humans walked on the Moon, China is working steadily towards landing its astronauts on the lunar surface.

October 30, 2025, a spokesman for China’s crewed space programme said the country was “on track” to launch its lunar mission by 2030. So how does China plan to send astronauts to the Moon?

Among legislators and senior figures in the US space sector, China’s progress towards a crewed lunar mission has generated concern. Some fear damage to America’s status as a spacefaring nation if China lands before NASA’s effort to return astronauts to the Moon.

The US space agency’s Artemis III mission should send the first American astronauts to the lunar surface since Apollo 17 in 1972. It is scheduled to launch in 2027, but delays could bring it much clos

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