The plan does not include a mission similar to Apollo 8 or Artemis II.
China publicly discloses plan for a lunar landing within three years
In short
The initiative sets a public schedule to achieve a landing on the moon inside of a three-year period. Rather than staging preparatory crewed orbits around the lunar body, the program will skip intermediate milestones like Artemis II or Apollo 8. The disclosure marks an accelerated pathway to touching down on the lunar surface.
Key points
- The newly disclosed timeline places an operational lunar landing within a tight three-yea…: The newly disclosed timeline places an operational lunar landing within a tight three-year deadline.
- Mission planners have chosen not to conduct an orbital crewed flight prior to touching do…: Mission planners have chosen not to conduct an orbital crewed flight prior to touching down.
- Lunar landing objectives are being approached without utilizing the test-flight model see…: Lunar landing objectives are being approached without utilizing the test-flight model seen in Artemis II.