Hong Kong CNN —China’s space agency has revealed the names of the spacecraft that it hopes will take Chinese astronauts to the moon by the end of the decade.
In a news release over the weekend, the China Manned Space Agency said development was “progressing well” on the spaceship Mengzhou, or Dream Vessel, the lander, Lanyue, or Embracing the Moon, and a super-heavy-lift carrier rocket named Long March 10.
The name Mengzhou is linked to the “Chinese nation’s dream of landing on the moon,” it added.
The United States is ramping up its lunar program, with NASA last month announcing its plan to land astronauts on the moon in 2026, a year behind its original schedule.
Last week, the commercial Odysseus lunar lander developed by Intuitive Machines became the first US-made spacecraft to touch down on the moon in 50 years.
Persons:
“ Lanyue ”, Mao Zedong, Xi Jinping’s, Japan’s
Organizations:
Hong Kong CNN, China Manned Space Agency, NASA, Machines
Locations:
Hong Kong, China, Beijing, People’s Republic of China, United States, Japan, India