China is continuing its mission to land taikonauts on the Moon by 2030, as related development and construction advance rapidly to realize the goal, the China Human Spaceflight Agency announced Tuesday at a press conference.
Production and ground testing of prototypes of the Long March-10 carrier rocket, Mengzhou manned spacecraft, Lanyue lunar lander, moon landing suit and manned lunar rover are underway as planned, Lin said Xiqiang, agency spokesperson.
A series of major tests have been completed, including an integral airdrop test for the spacecraft, the separation test for the two lander modules, the ignition test of the three-craft power system for the first rocket stage and high altitude simulation test for the hydrogen-oxygen spacecraft.
Ground systems, including the launch site, telemetry and control communications, and landing site, are under development and construction, he added.
