Space Race: China Launches Mission to 'Claim' the Moon
Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - As the world faces conflict, three Chinese astronauts have reportedly successfully reached the Tiangong space station. One of them is scheduled to spend over a year in orbit, marking Beijing’s concrete step towards preparing for a future Moon landing.
According to Russia Today’s report on Monday, 25 May 2026, the Shenzhou-23 spacecraft was launched using a Long March 2F rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert on Sunday. Within less than four hours, through a rapid rendezvous and docking process, the crew led by Commander Zhu Yangzhu successfully reached the Tiangong space station, which translates to ‘Heavenly Palace’.
Former Air Force pilot Zhang Zhiyuan and payload specialist Lai Ka-ying, a former Hong Kong police officer and the first person from the city to travel to space, were welcomed by the departing Shenzhou-22 crew.
The astronauts are expected to spend around six months on the orbital station conducting scientific experiments, maintenance work, and spacewalks. However, one crew member will stay twice as long to complete China’s first full-year orbital mission.
The China Manned Space Engineering Office (CMSEO) stated that the Tiangong space station plays a crucial role in Beijing’s plan to land two astronauts on the Moon before 2030. Spokesperson Zhang Jingbo said the orbital station provides long-duration spaceflight experience and allows China to test technologies necessary for future lunar missions.
Jingbo added that the new Long March 10A rocket and the Mengzhou crewed spacecraft will conduct a series of flights to Tiangong over the next two years to verify systems required for crewed lunar landings. Senior engineers from the agency also confirmed the exploration project is strictly following a well-planned schedule without intent to challenge other nations.
‘We are executing this crewed lunar exploration project according to a set plan. We are not competing with other nations in space,’ said CMSEO senior engineer Zhou Yaqiang.
‘When Chinese astronauts land on the Moon in the future, it will be an extraordinary achievement for all of humanity,’ Yaqiang added regarding the mission’s broader vision.
Humanity has not landed on the Moon since NASA’s Apollo 17 mission in 1972. Although the United States sent a crew on a flyby mission earlier this year as part of its Artemis programme, Beijing continues to challenge Washington’s efforts to establish the first permanent presence on the Moon.
Moscow and Beijing have expanded their space cooperation in recent years, agreeing to build a joint data centre for lunar and deep space exploration focused on the Moon and Mars. In 2021, the two nations announced the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) project, with Russia aiming to build a lunar power station within a decade to supply energy for the base.