Leonard David's INSIDE OUTER SPACE

Image credit: China Manned Space Engineering Office

The China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) on Monday issued an announcement to solicit proposals for payloads to be carried by the country’s human Moon mission set to take place in 2030.

According to the CMSA, the lunar lander will carry scientific payloads solicited from research institutions, universities and high-tech enterprises.

Investigative fields would include lunar geology and lunar physics, observation, space life sciences, as well as deep drilling on the lunar surface and utilization of lunar resources, the CMSA stated, as reported by the Global Times and Xinhua news groups.

Image credit: China Manned Space Engineering Office

Lunar rover

Chinese astronauts will be able to explore the surface of the Moon using a two-seater lunar rover which will be able to collect samples within a range of 6 miles (10 kilometers), according to Zhang Hailian, deputy chief designer with the CMSA.

Zhang said that in addition to the two-person lunar rover, China also plans to launch a lunar mobile laboratory with large-scale mobile capabilities. It will be able to operate uncrewed on the lunar surface for a considerable time, and will be equipped to support the short-term stay of astronauts.

Image credit: China Manned Space Engineering Office

Preliminary plans

In recent days, China space experts have been detailing the country’s humans-to-the-Moon exploration plans, although cited as preliminary.

Last week, a preliminary plan for landing a Chinese crew on the Moon before 2030 was outlined, based on use of two carrier rockets to transfer a Moon lander and a crewed spacecraft into lunar orbit.

The two would then rendezvous and dock with each other. Crew transfer into the Moon lander would be done in lunar orbit. After crew touchdown on the Moon and lunar tasks are finished, the explorers would then rocket back into lunar orbit to dock with their orbiting spacecraft for return to Earth.

Image credit: China Manned Space Engineering Office 

According to China Central Television (CCTV), Chinese researchers are working on the development of the Long March-10 carrier rocket, a new generation of piloted spacecraft, a lunar lander, a lunar landing spacesuit, a wheeled lunar rover for Moon explorers, and other equipment, citing Zhang speaking at a recent space industry forum in Wuhan, capital of central China’s Hubei Province.