China's Lunar Program

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• Cosmonautics of China

Chronicle

2024

China unveils road map for lunar exploration

On October 15, 2024, China presented a national space science development program that defines the country's main goals and objectives for the period up to 2050. Significant attention is planned to be paid to the development of the moon.

The document was published by the PRC Academy of Sciences, the Chinese National Space Administration (CNSA) and the Office of the Chinese Manned Space Program (CMSA). The program sets out the goals for the development of Chinese space science, including 17 priority areas. The main scientific questions to be studied include the habitability of celestial bodies in the solar system and exoplanets, observation of space weather, three-dimensional study of the Sun and the heliosphere, as well as the evolution of the Moon and the study of the Earth-Moon ecosystem as a whole.

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Within the framework of the published program, China intends to carry out manned research of the natural satellite of the Earth. In addition, the construction of an international lunar research station, the creation of which was proposed by China, will be completed.

Yang Xiaoyu, director of the Department of Systems Engineering at the Chinese National Space Administration, also said that the Chinese automatic interplanetary station Chang'e-7, scheduled to launch in 2026, will explore the terrain and resources at the south pole of the moon. In turn, the Chang'e-8 apparatus will be engaged in a technological study of the possibility of using lunar resources. These two missions will form the basis of the mentioned international lunar research station.

In general, the PRC seeks to make "revolutionary breakthroughs in fundamental research" in areas such as the origin and evolution of the Universe, the nature of spacetime, the origin of the solar system and life.^[1]

China launches satellite for communication between Earth and the moon

On March 20, 2024, China successfully launched the Queqiao-2 spacecraft (Queqiao-2). This satellite will have to perform the functions of a repeater to provide communication between the Earth and the moon for future space missions. Read more here.

2023

Pakistan joins Russian-Chinese lunar station project

The Space and Upper Atmosphere Exploration Commission Pakistan (SUPARCO) has become an official participant in the project of constructions the International Scientific Lunar Station (MNLS). The corresponding China National Space Administration (CNSA) PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA agreement was signed by the head Zhang Kejian and the Pakistani ambassador to Moin ul Haq, who spoke on behalf of SUPARCO, on October 18, 2023. This was announced on October 23, 2023. Roskosmos More. here

China has presented a new generation spacecraft. It will send astronauts to the moon

On August 31, 2023, the China Manned Space Flight Agency (CMSA) presented a project for a new generation spacecraft, as well as a lander to be used in lunar missions. Read more here.

China revealed details of its program to create a base on the moon

At the end of March 2023, China released some details about the program for the exploration of the moon and the construction of a habitable base on it. The key tasks will be lunar astronomy, Earth observation and the use of lunar resources directly on site.

Earlier, China announced a partnership with Russia to implement a lunar exploration program that will compete with NASA's large-scale Artemis (Artemis) project. We are talking about the creation of robotic landers, orbiters and sending missions with a crew. The culmination will be the creation of an outpost in the southern polar region of the Moon - the International Scientific Lunar Station (ILRS).

Visualization of the International Scientific Lunar Station

It is noted that the PRC plans to create a base model of a research station based on two planned missions by 2028. Subsequently, the complex will be expanded to an international base. The main goals of the program are to study the composition, process of formation and evolution of the moon. Finding and assessing where critical resources such as water ice are are vital to human exploration of the moon and could eventually lead to permanent lunar settlements.

The construction of the complex on the far side of the moon will open up new opportunities for astronomy, including radio astronomy. In this case, radio telescopes will not be affected by interference from equipment on Earth, and optical telescopes will not have to deal with light pollution or atmospheric distortion. Experts intend to study star formation, stellar activity and solar dynamics. These studies will allow scientists to learn more about "space weather" and how solar flares proceed. In general, as noted, the moon is the "main field" of deep space exploration, and the construction of a lunar scientific station will become a "historical necessity."^[2]

2021: Russia and China agree on joint exploration of the moon

On March 9, 2021, Russia and China signed a memorandum on the joint development of the moon. The head of Roscosmos Dmitry Rogozin and the head of the Chinese National Space Administration (CNSA) Zhang Kejian, on behalf of governments, agreed on cooperation, within which it is planned to create an international scientific station on the moon or in its orbit. Read more here.

2020: Chinese apparatus "Chang'e-5" landed on the moon

On December 1, 2020, TASS Information Agency of Russia reported that the module of the Chinese mission "Chang'e-5" landed on the surface of the moon. This was reported by the China National Space Administration (CNSA).

After landing, the lander under control from the Earth officially began its work on the surface of the moon, which will last two days, the message says.

At 22:57 Beijing time (17:57 Moscow time), the lander, which includes the take-off module, began to descend from a height of 15 km from the lunar surface. With the help of an engine with a capacity of 7.5 kilonewtons, it extinguished the speed from 1.7 km per second to zero. The landing occurred not far from the calculated place at 23:11 Beijing time (18:11 Moscow time) at a point with coordinates of 43 degrees and 1 minutes of north latitude and 51 degrees and 8 minutes of west longitude. According to the agency, the lander has already transmitted pictures of the landing area.

The landing site is near the Sharpe furrow north of Rumker Peak in the area of ​ ​ the largest lunar sea - the Ocean of Storms - in the northwest of the visible part of the moon. As the developers of the Chinese lunar mission noted, the geological age of the surface in this area is relatively small and is about 3.7 billion years. Obtaining rock samples from this part of the Earth's natural satellite will allow scientists to gain a more complete understanding of the history of volcanic activity on the moon, its evolution and formation.

After landing, the module will begin drilling and collecting samples of regolith (lunar soil) both from a depth of about 2 m, and, using a mechanical manipulator, from the surface of a natural Earth satellite. In total, it is planned to collect 2 kg of rock, which will be placed in a vacuum container.

After that, a special module with the help of an engine with a thrust of 3 kN will take off and automatically dock with the Chang'e-5 orbital module, where the soil will be moved to the returned capsule. Then the take-off module will separate from the orbital module, and the latter will head towards Earth.

At a distance of about 5 thousand kilometers from the Earth, the returned capsule will separate from the orbital module. Its landing will be carried out along a trajectory with the so-called double immersion in the atmosphere: during the first entry, it will extinguish the speed, after which the capsule will leave the Earth's atmosphere in an elliptical orbit, and then re-enter it and make a soft landing in the autonomous region of Inner Mongolia in the north of the PRC.

Initially, the Chang'e-5 mission was planned for 2017, but due to the unsuccessful launch of the Changzheng-5 launch vehicle (CZ-5), it was postponed first to the end of 2019, and then to November 2020. As a result, the launch took place on November 24.

If successful, the Chang'e-5 mission will deliver samples of lunar soil to Earth for the first time in 44 years (after Luna-24 in 1976), and China will become the third country after the United States and the USSR to successfully^[3].

2018: China to plant potatoes and flowers on the moon

As part of the Lunar Minibiosphere program, the PRC will deliver seeds of potatoes and other plants to the moon in 2018, Xinhua China^[4] in April 2018^[5] The seeds will be delivered using the Chang'e-4 module^[6] will^[7] the^[8].

One of the problems that Chinese scientists will have to face is maintaining a normal temperature for seeds, since the thermometer on the moon ranges from -100 to + 100 C °.

"We must keep the temperature in the'minibiosphere' in the range of 1 to 30 degrees, while at the same time moderately controlling the level of humidity and the supply of nutrients. In addition, using a special device, we will send reflected light from the surface of the moon to the jar to help plant growth, "said Xie Genxin, chief developer of the experiment

"During the experiment, we intend to study seed breathing and photosynthesis of plants on the moon," the developers add.

The Zernos will be delivered in tin containers equipped with a chamber and a system for supplying nutrients for plants. In addition, water and air will be supplied to them. The height of the container will be 18 cm, diameter - 16 cm, volume - 0.8 l, weight - 3 kg.

The Lunar Minibiosphere project was selected from more than 200 other projects that participated in the competition for the development of the plan for the first lunar biological project (the competition was announced by the China National Space Administration). In total, 28 universities in China took part in the development of the program.

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