Feb 13, 2026

China's Mengzhou Spacecraft Passes Key Test for 2030 Crewed Moon Mission with Long March 10 Rocket

China validated two critical elements of its 2030 crewed lunar architecture this week. The Mengzhou next-generation spacecraft completed a controlled ocean splashdown, and the Long March 10 rocket’s first stage landed in a designated sea zone. Both systems performed precision ocean recovery, a capability essential for crewed lunar missions.

This was not a full orbital mission. It was a focused test of re-entry, thermal protection, and ocean landing systems ahead of crewed flights. The test builds on China’s expanding orbital infrastructure, which includes the Three-Body satellite constellation for space-based computing and 120 Gbps laser communication capabilities.

[!NOTE] Official Images: High-resolution photos of the Mengzhou capsule recovery and Long March 10 splashdown are available from Xinhua News Agency photographers Wang Heng and Han Qingce. Due to access restrictions on Chinese government media servers, we recommend viewing the official CCTV+ video below, which shows the complete recovery sequence, or visiting news outlets like South China Morning Post, Global Times, and Space.com that republish official imagery with proper attribution.

What Happened: Separation, Re-Entry, and Ocean Recovery

The test launched from China’s coastal spaceport on February 10–11, 2026. After liftoff, the Mengzhou capsule separated from the Long March 10 launcher, flew a test profile to validate maximum dynamic-pressure conditions, then re-entered the atmosphere.

The spacecraft splashed down under parachutes in a pre-planned ocean landing zone. Recovery forces, including ships and helicopters, were positioned at the site. State television footage shows the capsule floating on the ocean surface with recovery crews approaching.

State television footage via CCTV+ shows Mengzhou’s ocean splashdown and recovery sequence, validating maximum dynamic-pressure cancellation and safe landing at sea.

The Long March 10 first stage also splashed down in its own designated ocean zone. This marks a key shift toward controlled downrange impacts, improving safety and enabling future reusability tests. Previous Chinese rockets typically used uncontrolled re-entries over land or ocean.

For a real-time view of China’s operational satellite infrastructure, including the Three-Body Computing Constellation and communication satellites, visit our satellite tracker.

Technology Readiness Level: Mengzhou TRL 6 (system demonstrated in relevant environment), Long March 10 TRL 5-6 (component validation in relevant environment)

Mengzhou: China’s Answer to Orion and Crew Dragon

The Mengzhou spacecraft is China’s next-generation crew vehicle, designed for both low Earth orbit (LEO) and lunar missions. It replaces the Shenzhou capsule, which has supported China’s Tiangong space station program since the early 2000s.

Key design features for lunar operations:

Modular architecture: Separate crew cabin and service module, similar to NASA’s Orion
Higher re-entry speeds: Lunar return missions hit the atmosphere at 11 km/s, compared to 7.8 km/s for LEO re-entries
Ocean landing: Shift from Inner Mongolia ground landings to sea recovery reduces landing forces and improves crew safety
Radiation protection: Enhanced shielding for translunar trajectories beyond Earth’s magnetosphere

The ocean landing test specifically validated the capsule’s thermal protection system under high-speed re-entry conditions and confirmed parachute deployment sequencing for safe water impact.

Long March 10: Precision Splashdown for Safer Operations

The Long March 10 rocket is China’s heavy-lift vehicle for crewed lunar missions. The first stage’s controlled ocean landing represents a significant operational improvement over past missions.

Previous Chinese rockets used expendable first stages that fell back uncontrolled, requiring large exclusion zones over land or ocean. The Long March 10 test demonstrated:

Trajectory control: Active guidance to a pre-designated ocean zone
Predictable impact: Reduced uncertainty in landing location, improving safety
Reusability pathway: While this test was not a recovery attempt, controlled splashdown is the first step toward booster reuse

China has publicly stated interest in reusable rocket technology, similar to SpaceX’s Falcon 9 booster landings. The Long March 10 splashdown validates the guidance and control systems needed for future landing attempts on ships or offshore platforms.

The 2030 Lunar Architecture

China’s crewed Moon program, announced in 2023, relies on multiple launches of the Long March 10 rocket:

Lander mission: Long March 10 delivers the lunar lander to low Earth orbit
Crew mission: Second Long March 10 launches Mengzhou with crew aboard
Lunar orbit rendezvous: Mengzhou docks with the lander in LEO or lunar transfer orbit
Lunar descent: Crew transfers to lander, descends to surface
Return: Crew ascends in lander’s ascent stage, docks with Mengzhou, returns to Earth
Ocean recovery: Mengzhou re-enters and splashes down, similar to this week’s test

This architecture differs from NASA’s Artemis program, which uses a single SLS launch for crew and relies on a separately launched lunar lander (SpaceX Starship HLS). China’s approach requires precise in-space rendezvous and docking but avoids dependence on commercial partners.

The February 2026 test validated the final step: bringing the crew home safely via ocean landing.

Precision Ocean Landing: A Global Trend

Ocean recovery is becoming the standard for crewed spacecraft:

NASA Apollo (1960s-1970s): Pacific Ocean splashdowns after lunar missions
SpaceX Crew Dragon (2020-present): Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico landings for ISS missions
NASA Orion (Artemis I, 2022): Pacific Ocean splashdown after uncrewed lunar flyby
China Mengzhou (2026): First crewed lunar-class vehicle to validate ocean recovery in China’s program

Ocean landings offer several advantages over ground touchdowns:

Lower impact forces: Water provides cushioning, reducing crew G-loads
Larger landing zones: Ocean targets are less constrained than specific ground sites
No population risk: Eliminates danger of capsule landing near populated areas

The trade-off is operational complexity. Recovery requires ships, helicopters, and divers positioned at sea, which China successfully demonstrated in this test.

What This Test Did Not Validate

This was a sub-orbital or short-duration orbital test, not a full lunar mission simulation. The following systems were not tested:

Deep-space communications: Lunar missions require signal relay at 380,000 km distance, well beyond this test’s scope
Life support duration: A lunar mission takes 8-10 days round trip, far longer than this test flight
Radiation exposure: The test remained within Earth’s magnetosphere, which shields against solar and galactic cosmic radiation
Lunar orbit insertion: The spacecraft did not practice orbital maneuvers around the Moon
Rendezvous and docking: No docking test was performed, though Mengzhou must dock with the lander in the full mission

Additional tests will validate these capabilities before crewed flights begin. China’s 2030 timeline allows for multiple uncrewed test missions to incrementally validate all systems.

Comparison to Other Lunar Programs

China is not the only nation preparing for crewed lunar landings:

China’s Orbital Computing Infrastructure: The Three-Body satellite constellation provides deep-space communication infrastructure that could support lunar missions with on-orbit data processing for real-time mission control. The constellation’s 120 Gbps laser links demonstrate bandwidth capabilities sufficient for high-definition video transmission from lunar orbit.
NASA Artemis III (targeting 2026-2027): SLS rocket + Orion spacecraft + SpaceX Starship HLS, with ocean recovery for Orion after lunar flyby
SpaceX Orbital Data Centers (targeting late 2020s): Proposed 1 million satellite constellation for space-based AI computing could provide computational infrastructure for autonomous lunar operations and communication relay. Recent demonstrations include Starcloud’s GPU training of production-scale AI models in orbit.
Google Project Suncatcher: TPUs in orbit by 2027 could enable on-orbit processing of lunar mission data, reducing ground station dependencies
ESA/JAXA partnerships: Both agencies are contributing to NASA’s Artemis program rather than independent crewed lunar missions. Europe’s ASCEND orbital data center program demonstrates interest in space-based computing infrastructure.

China’s program is the only one outside the Artemis framework targeting crewed landings before 2030. The Mengzhou test keeps that timeline on track.

Challenges Ahead

Several obstacles remain before crewed lunar missions:

Safety validation: Human spaceflight requires redundancy and abort systems at every mission phase. Additional tests must demonstrate launch escape, in-flight abort, and emergency ocean landing under failure scenarios.

Lander development: China has not yet flown the lunar lander that will carry crew to the surface. That vehicle requires its own test program, including uncrewed lunar landings.

Spacesuit design: Lunar surface operations need spacesuits rated for vacuum, temperature extremes, and abrasive lunar dust. China has demonstrated spacewalks from Tiangong but not lunar-grade suits.

Communication infrastructure: Deep-space missions require reliable data links. China’s radiation-hardened computing and high-bandwidth laser communication systems provide foundation for lunar communication networks, but lunar surface relay infrastructure has not been deployed. Neuromorphic computing approaches could offer power-efficient processing for autonomous lunar rovers and habitats.

International coordination: Space law requires advance notice of lunar landing zones to prevent interference with existing missions (NASA’s Artemis sites, for example). Coordination through the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space will be necessary.

Path Forward

This test validates the precision ocean recovery systems essential for safe crew return from lunar missions. The next steps in China’s 2030 lunar program likely include:

Uncrewed Mengzhou orbital flight: Full LEO mission to validate life support, power systems, and multi-day operations
Lunar lander ground tests: Propulsion, landing legs, and ascent stage separation validation
Uncrewed lunar landing: Robotic test of the full lander before crewed missions
Crewed LEO flight: Astronauts fly Mengzhou in Earth orbit before committing to lunar trajectories
Uncrewed lunar flyby: Mengzhou flies around the Moon without crew, validating deep-space systems
Crewed lunar landing: If all prior tests succeed, two astronauts land on the Moon, likely at the lunar south pole

The February 2026 Mengzhou ocean landing was one test in a multi-year sequence. The spacecraft floated, the recovery forces deployed, and the first stage splashed down where planned. The 2030 timeline is still achievable if the remaining tests proceed on schedule.