{
  "id": 18960160,
  "title": "Will China’s slow and steady moon landing plan be a safer bet than the US’?",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/08/will-chinas-slow-and-steady-moon-landing-plan-be-a-safer-bet-than-the-18960160",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-11-08T15:00:25.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Reuters Business via SCMP",
    "slug": "reuters-business-via-scmp",
    "url": "https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3373711/will-chinas-slow-and-steady-moon-landing-plan-be-safer-bet-us"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A US space policy analyst argued that China’s comprehensive rehearsal for a crewed lunar landing is a safer strategy compared to NASA’s more economical approach, following updates from both nations detailing their moon missions. Wang Xiang, deputy chief designer of China’s crewed space program, revealed on October 31 that China would perform a series of docking tests between the Lanyue lander and Mengzhou spacecraft in lunar orbit before attempting an uncrewed landing, followed by a lift-off, and a return docking. Conversely, NASA plans to test docking with commercial landers from SpaceX and Blue Origin in Earth orbit in 2027 before attempting a landing on the lunar surface in 2028. Casey Dreier, chief of space policy at The Planetary Society, a California-based non-profit organization, deemed China’s plan as the more cautious method, despite the additional testing potentially affecting China’s timeline of sending humans to the moon by 2030. These extra test flights would necessitate completing numerous firsts within approximately three years, he explained. \"But that’s the point – you don’t want to discover a major hardware problem when you’re halfway to the moon with a crew.\" NASA’s strategy, however, entails a higher risk as it depends on private firms delivering a vehicle that has never been utilized before, a feat that cost about US$29 billion for NASA compared to the combined US$7 billion paid to SpaceX and Blue Origin. Dreier warned that this commercial relationship carries significant risk as the burden lies heavily on these companies. The complexity of the logistics further adds to the challenge, with each company requiring multiple rocket launches within a short timeframe and NASA needing to be prepared to dock with two different landers. Nasa’s roadmap has already undergone a change this year, with NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman announcing in February that Artemis III would no longer aim for a landing, following Artemis II’s crewed lunar voyage since 1972. While the two nations take different approaches, Dreier noted that the race to return to the moon is well underway. \"Both the US and China are taking this very seriously, and are making serious efforts into landing in the near future. It’s very exciting.\"",
  "summary": "China’s full dress rehearsal for its crewed moon landing would be tougher on schedule but safer than Nasa’s cheaper bet on commercial landers, a US space policy analyst said after the rival powers updated their lunar plans within a week of each other. Wang Xiang, deputy chief designer of China’s crewed space programme, said in Beijing on October 31 that, before sending any astronauts, China would…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}