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China's Rocket 921 may carry out a crewed mission to the Moon by 2027
China wants to become a leading space power by 2030, says Yansheng.Dec 26, 2022 11:03 AM EST
INNOVATION
Astronaut on the Moon with Chinese flag
3DSculptor/iStock
A new rocket capable of carrying out China's novel manned mission to the Moon is likely to be ready by 2027, according to the Aerospace Science and Technology Corp (CASC), China's biggest space contractor, South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported.
The chairman of the corporation, Wu Yansheng, speaking to a youth forum, revealed that the new rocket, codenamed 'Rocket 921', is designed to carry an orbiter vehicle with three persons on board and a two-member Moon lander.
"Our goal is that: to promote China to become a leading space power by 2030; and fully establish China as a world space power by 2045,” said Yansheng.
The new launch vehicle was unveiled in 2020 at the China Space Conference in Fuzhou. The rocket is being designed and built at the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT) in Beijing.
The developments come as NASA is poised to launch long-term missions to the Moon under its Artemis project.
Ambitious plans for deep-space exploration
China's space agency has laid out ambitious plans to further its exploration drive with even missions outside the solar system to discover potentially habitable environments.Starting in 2025, the agency is looking to launch a deep-space probe to study asteroids and comets passing closer to Earth.
It also hopes to further its Chang'e missions, which aim to bring back samples from the far side of the Moon in 2026, followed by a survey at the lunar south pole the next year, and setting up a research outpost out there in 2028. Chinese officials have also indicated a possible date of 2030 to send a crewed mission to the Moon, said SCMP.
A plan to send a mission to collect samples from the Martian surface in the next 10 to 15 years and expeditions to explore the Sun and planets like Jupiter and Uranus are also on the cards. A mission outside the solar system, code-named "Sound Search," plans to look for places suitable for human settlement.
Rocket 921 – An advanced system
The new rocket improves upon the technology used in China's Long March CZ-5G launch vehicle and can carry 70 tonnes in the lower-Earth orbit and 25 tonnes to the Moon.The launch vehicle is also looked at for developing a low-cost reusable vessel to support space transport missions, SCMP reported.
China is also continuing its work on Long March-9, which is touted to become its most powerful launch vehicle, rated to carry a payload of 150 tons to low-Earth orbits, 50 tons to the Moon, and up to 44 tons to Mars. For the three-stage rocket, new hydrogen-oxygen engines are being developed.
China's Rocket 921 may carry out a crewed mission to the Moon by 2027
New launch vehicles will enable it to carry out various deep-space explorations.
interestingengineering.com