Pakistan finds spot on China’s space flight; manned Moon mission on track, says CMSA

As per the the CMSA, in its pursuit of moon landing, the space agency will conduct a series of crucial procedures, such as thermal tests, Lanyue lunar lander testing, and maximum dynamic pressure escape tests for the manned spacecraft named ‘Mengzhou’. China will also conduct tests for the Long March-10 carrier rocket, including low-altitude and technology verification flights

“The research and development projects for our manned lunar mission are advancing steadily,” spokesperson for the China Manned Space Programme, Zhang Jingbo, was quoted as saying by news agency AP. He cited progress on the Long March 10 rocket, lunar landing suits, and an exploration vehicle as key milestones. “Our target of landing Chinese astronauts on the Moon by 2030 remains on path,” he added.

New crew for Tiangong space station

Alongside its lunar mission plans, China continues to expand operations aboard the Tiangong space station. Crews typically spend six months on the orbiting laboratory conducting scientific experiments and system maintenance as part of the nation’s long-term space program.

The newly announced crew — Zhang Lu, Wu Fei, and Zhang Hongzhang — will launch from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on Friday at 11:44 pm local time. Zhang previously served on the Shenzhou-15 mission, while Wu and Zhang Hongzhang will be making their first spaceflights.

In addition to their mission tasks, the astronauts will transport four mice — two male and two female — to study how weightlessness and isolation affect living organisms.

China began constructing the Tiangong, or “heavenly Palace”, space station after being excluded from the International Space Station programme due to US’s national security concerns about the Chinese space programme’s ties to the People’s Liberation Army.