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Hainan to see launch of next generation Mengzhou spacecraft to the Moon — media

According to the Hainan Daily newspaper, Chinese engineers are working on a new CZ-10 launch vehicle (Changzheng-10), which will put the spacecraft into orbit

HAIKOU /China/, February 25. /TASS/. The Wenchang Space Launch Center in South China's Hainan Province will facilitate the launch of a next generation Mengzhou manned spacecraft and Lanyue landing module to the Moon, the Hainan Daily newspaper reported.

According to the article, the Chinese Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation is working on a project to prepare prototypes of these spacecraft. In the meantime, Chinese engineers are developing a new CZ-10 launch vehicle (Changzheng-10), which will be completed by 2030 and will put the spacecraft and landing module into orbit.

Earlier, China Manned Space Program announced the names of the next generation spacecraft and landing module that will be used in the upcoming phase of the national lunar program to be Mengzhou, or "dream vessel," and Lanyue, or "embracing the Moon" respectively. China plans to carry out a mission to land taikonauts on the Earth's natural satellite in the foreseeable future.

The Wenchang Space Launch Centre is one of China's four space harbors and is the only place in the country where technical conditions allow the launch of the CZ-7A (Chang Cheng 7-a), the longest (60.7 m) rocket of national design. China's other next-generation launchers, which only Hainan is capable of launching, are the commercial CZ-8, as well as the CZ-5 and CZ-5B ("Chang Cheng 5" and "Chang Cheng 5-B"). They are the most massive (870 and 837.5 tons, respectively) of all counterparts developed in China. The spaceport is also a popular destination that attracts millions of tourists. They generate hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue every year.

Seven Tianzhou cargo spacecraft, the core module of the Chinese Tianhe orbital station and its laboratory modules Wentian and Mengtian, the Tianwen-1 Mars probe, and the Chang'e 5 unmanned lunar exploration vehicle were launched from the Hainan launch site. In addition, Wenchang enabled China to send many satellites into orbit.

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