(Yicai) Oct. 30 -- The research, development, and construction for China’s manned mission to the Moon are progressing smoothly, as the country remains committed to sending astronauts to the Moon by 2030, according to a spokesperson for the China Manned Space Agency.

The main work for the prototypes of the Long March 10 carrier rocket, Mengzhou manned spacecraft, Lanyue lunar lander, Wangyu lunar suit, and Tansuo manned lunar rover has been completed, the spokesperson said at a press conference today.

China has successfully tested the second-stage power system of the Long March 10 carrier rocket, the tethered ignition test, the zero-altitude escape test of the Mengzhou manned spacecraft, and the comprehensive verification test of landing and takeoff of the Lanyue lander this year.

The scientific research and application system has completed the design of the payload schemes for each flight mission, and the development and construction of ground systems, such as the launch site, tracking, control and communication, and landing site, are progressing at a fast speed, the spokesperson noted.

However, there are still many new technologies to be verified. The workload for product development is large, quality requirements are high, and flight test schedules are tight, with risks and challenges from all respects, they added.

In the next step, China will organize and complete the integrated test of the Lanyue lander, the thermal test and the maximum dynamic pressure escape test of the Mengzhou manned spacecraft, and the low-altitude flight and technical verification flight of the Long March 10 carrier rocket.

Editor: Futura Costaglione