China says its lunar exploration programme is on track to hit a target to launch in coming months, with its confident update contrasting with two high-profile setbacks to US efforts to return to the moon.
China plans to send an uncrewed spacecraft, Chang’e-6, to the far side of the moon in the first half of this year, with pre-launch tests for the mission now under way, state media reported on Wednesday.
“The launch site facilities are currently in good condition, with all preparations progressing smoothly according to plan,” the state-run Global Times newspaper said.
The update comes the same week that Astrobotic Technology Inc said that the attempt by its NASA-backed spacecraft to be the first US lander to reach the moon in more than 50 years had “no chance” of touching down on the lunar surface because of an apparent issue with the vehicle’s propulsion system.
Separately, the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) said on Tuesday it was delaying by about a year a mission for US astronauts to travel to the moon. Artemis III, originally targeted for late 2025, is now set for September 2026, and even that time frame is “very aggressive”, the agency said.
The US and China both want to send astronauts to the moon this decade as the two superpowers jostle for influence in the new-era space race. NASA administrator Bill Nelson has previously called for more money to counter the rapid progress of its rival.
China has set a 2030 target for sending the first Chinese astronauts to the moon and is seeking international support for a planned lunar research station.
In 2019, China became the first country to send a spacecraft to the far side of the moon, with the landing of Chang’e-4, named after the mythical Moon Goddess. This year’s mission is designed to be the first to collect samples from the moon’s far side and return them to Earth.