China's manned lunar exploration program is overall progressing smoothly and on track for the goal of landing astronauts on the moon before 2030, said the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) on Thursday.
At a press conference, CMSA spokesman Zhang Jingbo briefed on the preparations for and the progresses of the manned lunar exploration program.
"Overall, the development and the construction of the manned lunar mission are so far proceeding smoothly. The Long March-10 rocket, Mengzhou manned spacecraft, Lanyue lunar lander, Wangyu moon-landing spacesuit, and the Tansuo manned lunar rover have all completed the major tasks of the prototype phase. The scientific research and application systems have finished payload design for all planned flights, while the development and the construction of ground facilities, including launch sites, telemetry, tracking and command networks, and landing-recovery systems, are being accelerated," Zhang said.
The spokesman noted that the lunar program team has completed a series of tests on the rocket, the spacecraft and the lander so far this year.
"In the next phase, we will carry out tests including integrated testing for the Lanyue lunar lander, thermal tests and maximum dynamic pressure escape tests for the Mengzhou manned spacecraft, and low-altitude flight and technology verification flights for the Long March-10 carrier rocket," Zhang said.
"As for the timeline, we remain focused on the goal of putting Chinese astronauts on the Moon before 2030," he said.
China's manned lunar exploration program on track for moon landing goal: CMSA
