SpaceWar.com reports: “China is making steady strides toward its goal of landing astronauts on the moon by 2030, with research and development efforts progressing as scheduled, the China Manned Space Agency announced Monday.

According to the agency’s latest update, key elements of the lunar mission-including the Long March 10 heavy-lift rocket, the Mengzhou crewed spacecraft, the Lanyue lunar lander, the Wangyu lunar suit, and the Tansuo lunar rover-are in their initial prototype development stage, with design work proceeding on track.

In parallel, construction of crucial test and launch infrastructure is underway at the Wenchang Space Launch Center in Hainan province. The agency confirmed that plans for essential ground systems, such as tracking, telemetry, command, and landing site infrastructure, have been finalized, with construction work set to commence soon.

Upon completion, China’s lunar mission will mark a historic milestone, making it the second nation to land astronauts on the moon, bolstering its presence in global space exploration.

The United States successfully landed astronauts on the moon during six Apollo missions in the 1960s and 1970s, with a total of 12 astronauts setting foot on the lunar surface…”