# China and NASA Moon Landing Plans Compared

> China aims for moon landing by 2030 without crewed test flights, while NASA plans crewed missions with robotic rehearsals.
- Title: China and NASA Moon Landing Plans Compared · Mashable
- Summary: China aims for moon landing by 2030 without crewed test flights, while NASA plans crewed missions with robotic rehearsals.
- Keywords: china, nasa, moon landing, mengzhou, lanyue, artemis iii, blue origin, spacex, Mashable
- Source: Mashable — https://mashable.com/science/china-nasa-moon-landing-plans-compared
- Author: Elisha Sauers
- Published: 2026-11-07T16:19:17+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: china, nasa, moon landing, mengzhou, lanyue, artemis iii, blue origin, spacex, technology, culture
## China's Moon Landing Plan
China plans to land people on the moon by 2030.
## NASA's Moon Landing Plan
NASA aims to land astronauts on the moon by 2028 with crewed test flights.
## China's Approach
China skips crewed lunar test flights, trusting robotic rehearsals for first human landing.

> For any crewed mission, we will try to fly it in an unmanned state first
## NASA's Approach
NASA uses Apollo-style crewed test flights to land astronauts on the moon by 2028.

> It's not entrepreneurial thinking or tech industry pixie dust or some new management philosophy
## Key Missions
China's Mengzhou capsule flies to Earth orbit in 2027, followed by Lanyue lander in 2028.
## Next Steps
China's first crewed moon landing will be the one that lands after robotic rehearsals.
## Key takeaway

China's 2030 moon landing plan skips crewed test flights, using robotic rehearsals instead of NASA's Apollo-style crewed test flights.