China Just Got A Lot Closer To Its First-Ever Manned Moon Landing

Since Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the Moon almost 60 years ago, 10 other people have done it, too. All have been Apollo astronauts, but some nations have ambitions of making their own Moon landing. China is one such nation, and the country officially announced a mission in 2023 that aims to get astronauts on the Moon by 2030. 

However, before doing so, China must decide where exactly those astronauts would land. The country is in the process of narrowing down what began as an enormous list of just over 100 possible landing places, and some recent research suggests a frontrunner location has emerged. According to a study published in Nature Astronomy, a lunar region called Rimae Bode could make for an excellent spot to land a potential mission. 

The study, published in March 2026, details that Rimae Bode is located close to the equator, which could offer proximity to a range of different lunar rocks for sampling. This would also serve as a prime nearside spot that would make both landing and critical communications with colleagues on Earth much easier. Let's take a closer look at Rimae Bode, and why this particular spot could be so important to the goals of China's mission specifically.

Ambitious projects like moon landings aren't cheap, and countries generally tend to want to get the most out of them by collecting samples and performing as much research as possible. In addition to making sure a surface is relatively flat to make landing easier, scientists want to make sure they are landing in a spot with lots of valuable research materials nearby. In this study, the authors factored in the distribution of such materials on the Moon's surface in their analysis. Because Apollo 17 reached no more than 8.2 km from its landing spot, the authors were looking for the highest concentration of enticing Moon materials that could be found within an 8-km distance.

Professor Jun Huang, a co-author of the study, told Space.com that the Rimae Bode region of the Moon's surface features "volcanic plains and ancient highlands, allowing astronauts to sample everything from volcanic ash erupted from the deep lunar interior to debris from massive ancient impacts." Some of this material from inside the depths of the Moon, Huang goes on, offers "information that is usually hidden beneath miles of crust." Overall, the team suggested four different potential landing sites worth pursuing in the Rimae Bode region. The question is when they might get there.

As a historic Chinese rocket test in February 2026 demonstrated, China certainly seems committed to achieving its first-ever manned flight to the Moon's surface. That spacecraft test along with the recent Nature Astronomy study of possible landing zones on Rimae Bode are two of the latest steps in a long process of getting to the Moon.

China's lunar landing program began in 2004. Known as Chang'e (after the Chinese Goddess of the Moon), it got underway three years later when the Chang'e 1 probe set out to orbit our celestial neighbor. It ultimately did so hundreds of times, creating an in-depth map of the Moon through extensive photography. Since then, the program has sent several other probes to the Moon to better understand the makeup of the Moon beneath the surface and bring home China's first lunar material, a small quantity of 2-billion-year-old samples.

The country's lunar efforts have become more ambitious over time, and these missions are all building toward something monumental. China plans not only to host its first manned flight, but also to construct a lunar research base. The country is getting closer to accomplishing these goals with each breakthrough.