China Manned Lunar Missions in Reach as Lander Testing Completed

By / HICN / Updated: 12:13,14-August-2025

The Manned Lunar Lander "Lanyue" is tested at the Extraterrestrial Celestial Body Landing Test Site located in Huailai County, Hebei Province. (PHOTO: Xinhua News Agency)

On August 6, China successfully completed comprehensive verification testing of the touchdown and takeoff capabilities of its lunar lander at the Extraterrestrial Celestial Body Landing Test Site located in Huailai County, Hebei Province.

On August 7, the China Manned Space Engineering Office stated that this test was a critical milestone in the development of China's manned lunar exploration program. It marked China's first comprehensive test of the extraterrestrial landing and takeoff capabilities of a manned spacecraft, featuring multiple test conditions, long test cycles, and various technical challenges.

The Manned Lunar Lander "Lanyue" is tested at the Extraterrestrial Celestial Body Landing Test Site located in Huailai County, Hebei Province. (PHOTO: Xinhua News Agency)

The lunar lander, named Lanyue ("embracing the moon"), is a newly developed extraterrestrial descent and ascent vehicle for China's first manned lunar exploration mission. Composed of a landing module and a propulsion module, it will primarily be used to ferry astronauts between lunar orbit and the lunar surface. Capable of carrying two taikonauts on round trips, along with a lunar rover and scientific payloads, it will support crewed missions to and from the moon, serving as a life-support, energy, and data center while its crew is on the lunar surface.

The testing was designed to validate lunar surface landing and takeoff system design, control solutions, touchdown shutdown strategies, and interface compatibility between the GNC (guidance, navigation, and control computer) and propulsion subsystems. The success marks a breakthrough in the research and development of China's manned lunar exploration program.

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