The China Manned Space Agency announced on Friday an ambitious roadmap for 2026, outlining two crewed spaceflights and a cargo resupply mission to advance the nation's orbital laboratory capabilities. These missions will expand operations aboard China's space station, which has become a cornerstone of its scientific research program since its completion in late 2022.
Concurrently, engineers are accelerating upgrades at the Wenchang spacecraft launch site in Hainan province to support future lunar exploration. The agency confirmed ongoing development of next-generation crew spacecraft and heavy-lift rockets critical for its crewed moon landing program, which aims to land astronauts on the lunar surface by 2030.
This dual-track approach demonstrates China's strategy to maintain low-Earth orbit operations while pursuing deep space exploration. The 2026 missions will test life support systems and conduct microgravity experiments, with findings expected to inform both space station operations and lunar mission planning.
