China unveils plans to land astronauts on the moon by 2030

China has unveiled plans to send astronauts to the moon by 2030, racing to join the U.S. as the only countries to put people on the moon.

China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) deputy chief engineer Zhang Hailian shared the plans at an aerospace summit in Wuhan on Wednesday, according to state-run news agency Xinhua.

The mission is part of a larger plan that involves establishing a lunar research station on the surface of the moon.

According to Chinese officials, the mission is expected to launch before the end of 2030 and will help establish best practices for how to construct a lunar base and for conducting exploration and scientific investigations on the moon. 

The U.S. is itself pushing to build a mini space station in lunar orbit, as well as put boots back on the lunar surface — something that hasn’t been done since 1972.

NASA’s administrator, Bill Nelson, has previously warned that China is a country to watch, and that NASA’s efforts to reach the moon in the next decade must stay on track.

According to Nelson, if the U.S. space agency is able to make it back to the lunar surface first, it can ensure that the moon is a continued peaceful outpost for everyone. 

China was a late player to the space game, having launched its first satellite in the 1970s — more than a decade behind the U.S. and Russia.

Ever since, though, the country has been rapidly advancing its technology and trying to catch up. The country even has plans for building reusable rockets to rival SpaceX’s technology. 

In 2013, China became the third country to successfully put a rover on the moon, something no other country has achieved since. Its lunar rover has been busy studying the moon’s far side, while the country’s space program plans out its lunar future.

These new lunar plans are part of China’s efforts to rapidly expand its space program, which has also landed a rover on Mars. 

China, which tends to announce astronaut crews a few days before launch, has not announced how many astronauts it plans to use for its lunar program nor identified potential recruits.

Currently, there are three Chinese astronauts, or taikonauts, on the country’s space station: mission commander Jing Haipeng and rookies Zhu Yangzhu and Gui Haichao.

Two launch vehicles will send a moon surface lander and crew-toting spacecraft into lunar orbit, where they will dock with each other, according to state-run Global Times. After docking, the astronauts will enter the lander and descend to the lunar surface.

Once they land, they will work to collect samples of lunar regolith, the soil and rocks that make up the moon’s surface. They are also expected to carry out other exploration tasks and scientific experiments before returning to the spacecraft in orbit.

Chinese researchers are working to not only develop the technology needed to safely land crews on the lunar surface, but also to support the various parts of the mission, such as lunar space suits and any type of exploration vehicles like a rover.