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Image credit: CCTV/Inside Outer Space screengrab

The China Manned Space Engineering Office (CMSEO) has released an official announcement regarding this year’s planned activities.

In 2026, the country’s human space program will further advance two major missions: space station application and development, and manned lunar exploration.

“Aiming to achieve China’s first lunar landing before 2030,” the CMSEO stated, “the development and construction of various aspects of the manned lunar exploration program’s lunar landing phase are progressing steadily.”

Mengzhou spacecraft’s zero-altitude escape test.
Image credit: CMSA

Phased breakthroughs

CMSEO added that research and development of various aspects of the manned lunar exploration program “are progressing smoothly, achieving several phased breakthroughs.”

In a posting, the CMSEO underscored these elements:

• development of major flight products such as the Long March 10 carrier rocket,
• the Mengzhou manned spacecraft, and the Lunar Lander has proceeded smoothly.
• Large-scale tests have been completed, including the Mengzhou manned spacecraft’s zero-altitude escape, the Lunar Lander’s landing and takeoff, the Long March 10 carrier rocket’s tethered ignition, the Long March 10 carrier rocket system’s low-altitude demonstration and verification, and the Mengzhou manned spacecraft system’s maximum dynamic pressure escape flight.

Image credit: CCTV/CMSA

In addition, the CMSEO states that this year, efforts will be focused on advancing the construction of supporting facilities and equipment at the Wenchang Space Launch Site to support a piloted lunar landing mission.

China’s Tiangong space station as imaged by MAXAR satellite.
Image credit: MAXAR

One-year stay in space

In 2026, China is to launch two crewed spaceflight missions and one cargo spacecraft resupply mission.

According to China Central Television (CCTV), a Pakistani astronaut will participate in a short-duration spaceflight mission of the Chinese space station, serving as a payload specialist.

Last year there was signing of a cooperation agreement between China and Pakistan under which the Chinese government began to select and train a group of Pakistani astronauts, with one of them selected as the first foreign astronaut to enter the Chinese space station, CCTV adds.

Astronauts from Hong Kong and Macau are expected to carry out space station missions as early as this year.

One astronaut from the launch this year of the Shenzhou-23 crew will conduct a one-year stay in space experiment, the CMSEO states.