Mengzhou (spacecraft)

The Mengzhou (Chinese: 梦舟; pinyin: mèng zhōu; lit. 'Dream Vessel'), formerly known as the Next-Generation Crewed Spacecraft, is crewed spacecraft in development by China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC). Its crewed flight capability is expected around 2027–2028. It comprises a seven-astronaut capacity crew module and an expendable service module for propulsion, solar power, and life support. Its role is similar to the operational US Orion and projected Russian Orel lunar spacecraft. The lunar landing version is designed to enter lunar orbit and dock with the Lanyue lander, each separately launched on a Long March 10 rocket. Unlike Shenzhou, China's only crewed spacecraft since 2005, it will be more radiation hardened and suitable for the more ionized atmospheric entry at lunar return velocity. The near-Earth version focuses on reusablility, launching crews on the Long March 10A to the Tiangong space station, replacing Shenzhou. Both versions will be the first crewed flights from China's southernmost Wenchang Space Launch Site in Hainan. Uncrewed orbital return tests were conducted with a scale model in 2016 and full-scale craft aboard a Long March 5B in 2020; the latter used a skip maneuver re-entry from medium Earth orbit. After a 2025 pad abort test, in February 2026 a Mengzhou craft was mated to a Long March 10 test stage, testing the launch escape system during the max q flight phase. The Mengzhou 1 uncrewed test flight aims to dock with Tiangong in late 2026.