China Sets Out How It Will Test Its First Crewed Moon Landing: Uncrewed and Near-Earth Flights First

Summary: On October 31, 2026, at the 7th Manned Space Symposium in Beijing, Wang Xiang, chief designer of China's lunar exploration program, gave a detailed public account of how China plans to land its first astronauts on the Moon. The architecture is the 2023 one: two Long March 10 launches and a meeting in lunar orbit. Restated on the record: a crew of three with two landing, and a rover on the first landing. Set out in new detail: two planning principles, that lunar tasks are tested near Earth first where possible and crewed flights are flown uncrewed first, including a Lanyue lander flight that is already taking payload proposals. No new dates; the target is still "before 2030." As of November 2, 2026, the lunar Long March 10, the Mengzhou crew ship and the Lanyue lander have not made their first flights.

What was announced

Wang, also a deputy chief designer of China's human spaceflight program, leads the lunar exploration program into which China merged its crewed and robotic lunar work this year. He spoke at the symposium hosted by the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA). As state media reported it:

• Two launches, one meeting in lunar orbit. In Xinhua's English report, "two rockets would separately send the Lanyue lunar lander and Mengzhou crewed spaceship into the Earth-moon transfer orbit, and the two spacecraft would perform a rendezvous and docking in the lunar orbit." China Daily adds that both are Long March 10s launched from Wenchang, Hainan.
• Three crew, two on the surface. Two astronauts move into Lanyue and land, while "a third astronaut will remain aboard the Mengzhou spacecraft in lunar orbit to support the landing crew" (China Daily).
• A rover on the first landing. "It is notable that we will deploy a lunar rover on our first crewed landing mission," Wang told China National Radio, in China Daily's translation. The two astronauts are to use the Tansuo rover for experiments and sample collection.

Uncrewed first, near Earth first

The largest new element is the test sequence. "Everything we plan to carry out on the moon will first be tested in near-Earth orbit, and all crewed missions will undergo validation through unmanned tests beforehand," Wang said (China Daily's translation). To CCTV he put it as two planning principles, with hedges: "for any task to be performed in lunar orbit, we will utilize the space station to conduct validation in near-Earth orbit whenever possible; second, for any crewed mission, we will try to fly it in an unmanned state first" (CCTV, as quoted by Inside Outer Space). Near-Earth versions of the Long March 10 and Mengzhou are to fly space station missions to prove the rocket and the ship's re-entry before the lunar versions fly: "near-Earth first, then the Moon." For the lander, "we will use the unmanned Lanyue lunar lander to verify all the key technologies throughout the entire crewed process as much as possible," from launch and docking with Mengzhou to landing, takeoff and docking again. That flight will also measure surface temperature and lunar dust, CCTV reported.

How many test flights, and when? No official text we found gives a number or dates, and reports differ. SpaceNews says China will fly "a standalone Lanyue lunar lander mission and a full-scale uncrewed landing rehearsal." China in Space, working from the symposium slides, says the total number of test flights was not stated, that the uncrewed rehearsal replaces an Apollo 10-style crewed flight, and that Mengzhou is to visit the Tiangong station at least twice first. The Chinese tech site IT之家 (ITHome) gives three uncrewed circumlunar verification missions and one crewed landing between 2028 and 2030 (our translation), without naming an official source. We do not choose between them. Also reported from the slides but not in any official text we found: three days on the surface, with daily spacewalks.

Done so far (Xinhua): Mengzhou's zero-height abort and maximum dynamic pressure escape tests, Lanyue's landing and takeoff test, and a low-altitude Long March 10 demonstration, which Wang said also achieved China's first recovery of a rocket after re-entry (our translation). Still ahead (CCTV): the Long March 10 technical verification flight, the first Mengzhou and Lanyue flights, and the robotic Chang'e-7, postponed on August 23 with no new official date.

What changed since 2023

In July 2023, CMSA deputy chief designer Zhang Hailian set out the preliminary plan: two rockets, docking in lunar orbit, a landing to survey and collect samples, and the return in the crew ship, with a crewed rover among the equipment in development (People's Daily). That architecture stands. What the symposium added or restated:

• Crew size: Three launched, two landing, now stated by Wang as the crew plan. The capacities behind it were already public: CMSA's 2024 naming announcement, as reported by CCTV, said Mengzhou carries three astronauts to lunar orbit and Lanyue carries two to the surface. On October 31 CCTV presented the split as part of "the previously announced plan."
• The rover, restated for the first landing. This is not new: CMSA's call for rover designs of May 29, 2023 already said that during the first landing before 2030 "two astronauts will drive a crewed lunar rover" for scientific work (our translation).
• A precursor campaign. A 2025 analyst sequence, which our tracker shows as an inference, included a crewed Mengzhou flight to lunar orbit in 2028; China in Space reports the uncrewed rehearsal takes its place. CMSA has not said so itself.
• Payload space on the uncrewed lander (below).
• Unchanged: the target, "before 2030" (2030年前), with no official date for any lunar flight.

How it compares with Artemis

NASA restructured Artemis on February 27, 2026: Artemis III became a crewed test in low Earth orbit, now planned for "next year," in which Orion docks with test versions of both commercial landers, from SpaceX and Blue Origin. NASA's October 23, 2026 update changed how the landers meet Orion and kept the first crewed landing, Artemis IV, targeted for 2028, with the lander chosen "based on lander readiness." See our Artemis timeline and Artemis tracker.

(Analysis: both plans require an uncrewed lander demonstration before any crew lands. The complexity sits in different places. China's depends on two launches of a rocket not yet flown in its lunar form and a docking in lunar orbit, which China has done robotically on Chang'e 5 and 6 with different spacecraft. NASA's depends on landers whose campaigns involve refueling in orbit (Starship) or a multi-stage transfer stack (Blue Moon). Neither country has flown the lander its astronauts will ride.)

What it means for the race

Our Moon race tracker does not move on this announcement. It scores only demonstrated events, nothing new has flown, and China's official target, which drives the projection, is unchanged. China's rungs move when the planned flights happen: the three-core Long March 10 reaching orbit, Mengzhou flying to the Moon and back, Lanyue flying, the two docking, and an uncrewed landing and ascent (how each is scored). The crew size is now recorded as confirmed on our China page.

For suppliers and payload teams

• A payload call, for organizations in China. On October 22, CMSA invited proposals for active payloads on the uncrewed Lanyue flight: at most 50 kg in total per mission and generally no more than 100 W, open to independent legal entities in China, from research institutes and universities to companies. There is no carriage fee; teams fund their own development and integration. Deadline: March 1, 2027. "It is like giving them a 'free ride' to the Moon," Wang told CCTV (as quoted by Inside Outer Space).
• Survey before resources. In Xinhua's account, Wang called for "a prolonged survey phase needed to understand the moon" before resource use.
• The ILRS. China in Space reports that presentations listed future Lanyue variants, including cargo, reusable and night-capable landers and surface modules for the China-led International Lunar Research Station: concepts without dates. Partners are on our alliances page.

What to watch

• The Long March 10 technical verification flight and the first flights of Mengzhou and Lanyue, none officially dated. Mengzhou-1, to the Tiangong station on a Long March 10A, was planned for 2026 (Xinhua, November 2025), was not listed in CMSA's 2026 annual plan in February, and has not flown.
• A new date for Chang'e-7; March 1, 2027, the Lanyue payload deadline.
• Artemis III next year and NASA's 2028 landing target, side by side with China's on our next Moon landing page.

Sources

All accessed November 2, 2026. English quotations of Chinese officials are the publisher's own translation unless marked as ours.

• Xinhua: "China unveils detailed plan for manned moon landing" (October 31, 2026; via China Economic Net; same text on Global Times)
• Xinhua (Chinese): the "two launches, lunar-orbit docking" plan (October 31, 2026; via Beijing News on Sina)
• China Daily: "China details mission plan for crewed lunar landing" (Zhao Lei, November 1, 2026)
• CCTV English report: "China steadily advances lunar exploration program" (via Bastille Post, October 31, 2026)
• CCTV News (Chinese): upcoming flights (October 31, 2026; via Beijing News on Sina)
• IT之家, citing CCTV News (Chinese): near-Earth versions first; uncrewed Lanyue data (November 1, 2026)
• Inside Outer Space: "China Presses Forward on Human Moon Landing Before 2030" (Leonard David, November 2, 2026; CCTV translations)
• China News Service: the 7th Manned Space Symposium opens (Chinese) (October 31, 2026)
• CMSA: call for active payloads on the uncrewed Lanyue flight (Chinese) (October 22, 2026)
• CMSA: Chang'e-7 does not meet launch conditions this year (Chinese) (August 23, 2026)
• Xinhua (Chinese): four flights in 2026, including Mengzhou-1 on Long March 10A (November 1, 2025)
• CASC: Long March 10B maiden flight (Chinese) (July 10, 2026)
• People's Daily: China's preliminary crewed lunar landing plan (Chinese) (July 13, 2023)
• SpaceNews: "China outlines uncrewed test campaign for buildup to crewed moon landing" (Andrew Jones, October 31, 2026; secondary)
• China in Space: "China Details Precursors to Crewed Moon Landing, Considers Future Exploration" (November 1, 2026; secondary, from symposium slides)
• Sohu account citing Global Times images of the symposium slides (Chinese) (October 31, 2026; secondary)
• IT之家: the first crewed landing crew of three, two landing (Chinese) (October 31, 2026; secondary)
• NASA: "NASA, Partners Accelerate Lander Development for 2028 Moon Missions" (October 23, 2026; updated October 26)
• NASA: "NASA shares Artemis acceleration plans for Moon missions" (October 23, 2026)
• NASA: "NASA Adds Mission to Artemis Lunar Program, Updates Architecture" (February 27, 2026)
• NASA: "NASA on track for future missions with initial Artemis II assessments" (April 20, 2026)
• Payload: "Starship reaches orbit on 14th test flight" (September 28, 2026)
• Xinhua: "China's Chang'e-6 completes docking in lunar orbit with samples safely transferred" (June 6, 2024; via gov.cn)
• Global Times (Chinese): Wang Xiang on the crew of three, two landing (Fan Wei, October 31, 2026; via Sina)
• CMSA: call for crewed lunar rover designs (Chinese) (May 29, 2023)
• CCTV: CMSA names the Mengzhou crew ship and Lanyue lander (Chinese) (February 24, 2024)
• CMSA: Lanyue landing and takeoff test; two-seat lander (Chinese) (August 7, 2025)
• CMSA: 2026 annual plan (Chinese) (February 27, 2026)
• SpaceNexus: Moon race tracker, China page and method (evidence reviewed October 11, 2026; data as of November 2, 2026)