China's lunar landing project progresses with dual-rocket plan
China's crewed lunar landing mission uses a dual-launch, lunar-orbit docking plan. The deputy chief designer says the Chang'e programme's achievements will support the new project, which is advancing steadily.
China's crewed lunar exploration project is advancing steadily, using a plan involving two launches and docking in lunar orbit, the deputy chief designer of China's crewed space programme and chief designer of the lunar exploration project told state media.
Wang Xiang made the remarks during an interview with Xinhua News Agency on the opening day of the seventh International Symposium on Human Spaceflight, which began on 31 October. He said the plan calls for two rockets to precisely deliver the Lanyue lunar lander and the Mengzhou crew spacecraft into an Earth-Moon transfer orbit. The spacecraft will then rendezvous and dock in lunar orbit. Astronauts will transfer from the Mengzhou to the Lanyue lander for the descent to the lunar surface and carry out scientific work.
Wang said the development process uses an integrated design approach and pays close attention to verification tests of interfaces between systems, with the goal of achieving full-system coordination and compatibility.
He noted that crewed and robotic lunar exploration share many similarities in key technologies, infrastructure and personnel training. Wang said the results achieved in the Chang'e lunar exploration programme will play a role in the crewed landing effort.
The deputy chief designer's comments indicate that work on the various research and construction tasks for the landing-phase mission is progressing steadily.