Once realized, China's manned lunar program will make the country the second nation to land astronauts on the moon, significantly boosting its global space standing. The United States successfully sent six crewed missions in the 1960s and 1970s, putting 12 US astronauts on the moon.

These advancements in China’s reusable rocket and lunar exploration programs come as NASA prepares to launch a crew of four astronauts on a loop around the far side of the Moon as soon as next month. A US-made lunar lander is likely still a few years away from being ready to transport crews to and from the lunar surface.

The national space agency on Friday said it's planning to carry out two crewed spaceflights and a cargo resupply

The China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) on Friday unveiled plans to conduct two crewed spaceflight missions and one cargo resupply mission in 2026, with astronauts from the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions expected to undertake a space station mission.

China just took another step toward landing astronauts on the moon, acing a key abort test with its Mengzhou crew capsule and pulling off a soft splashdown with the returning rocket.

By Joey Roulette WASHINGTON, Feb 13 (Reuters) - The space race between U.S. billionaires is heating up, with Elon Musk's SpaceX planning to build a lunar base and Jeff Bezos pushing Blue Origin's ambitions as both companies aim to return humans to the moon ahead of a planned mission by China in 2030.

Watch a Long March 10 rocket launch a crewed spacecraft and lander to the moon in this animation from the China National Space Administration. Credit: Space.com | footage courtesy: China Central Telev

Pakistan, Feb. 11 -- China has successfully completed a critical test of its crew carrier rocket designed for future moon missions. The test ensures astronauts can return safely to Earth if launch problems occur.

By Joey Roulette WASHINGTON, Feb 13 (Reuters) - The space race between U.S. billionaires is heating up, with Elon Musk's SpaceX planning to build a lunar base and Jeff Bezos pushing Blue Origin's ambitions as both companies aim to return humans to the moon ahead of a planned mission by China in 2030.