The CMSA, branch of the Chinese space agency in charge of astronaut flights and future manned missions to the Moon, had launched a call for tenders from the Chinese aerospace industry to design and develop its rover. Several proposals emerged, but the two finalists remain the agency's usual contract workers, the CastCast and Sast (based in Shanghai), which will have to develop a prototype of their rover.
10 kilometers on the Moon
The specifications of the rover indicate that it must weigh around 200 kilos and have a capacity ofautonomyautonomy of 10 kilometers. Initially, the CMSA does not plan such long tours for its astronauts, who will only spend a few hours on the Moon, but such autonomy could be used to reach various sites when China one day has a lunar base. .
The scenario of the first Chinese manned missions to the Moon is gradually emerging. It looks a lot like missions ApolloApollo 15, 16 and 17. Three astronauts will take off aboard their Mengzhou spacecraft and join their lander named Lanyue in lunar orbit. During the first missions, surface operations are expected to last around six hours where two astronauts will go out in spacesuits, do experiments and take a ride in a rover before returning.
Numerous advances in the program
China plans to send its first astronauts to the Moon before the end of the decade, hoping to get there before the Americans return late with Artemis III. The progress is significant. China recently revealed the spacesuit that will be used for the moon walk and the design of its lander.
We are closely following the development of the future mega-launcherlauncher Chinese Long March 10, two copies of which are necessary to send the lander and the spacecraft with its occupants into lunar orbit. There is good progress in the development of engines for the rocketrocket. But the timing remains very tight to carry out a first mission before 2030.
