What progress has China made in lunar exploration in 2025?Space

20 July is International Moon Day, which celebrates the historic moment in 1969 when man first set foot on the Moon. This year's theme is: One Moon, One Vision, One Future - and that future is getting closer thanks to major breakthroughs in lunar exploration, including those in China.

The year 2025 was a turning point for China's lunar programme. In June, lunar rock samples brought back by the Chang'e-6 and Chang'e-5 missions were displayed for the first time at the UN headquarters in Vienna. Research on these samples is rewriting our existing understanding of the Moon. Scientists have discovered new evidence of volcanic activity on the far side of the Moon and evidence of early impact events that shaped its history.

China is not only exploring the Moon, but also building a global scientific community. On Chinese Space Day, April 24, it announced the approval of lunar sample loan requests from seven institutions in six countries - France, Germany, Japan, Pakistan, the United Kingdom and the United States. So far, 17 countries and international organizations and more than 50 global research institutions have joined the China-led International Lunar Research Station (ILRS). This initiative has the ambition to become one of the largest platforms for cooperation in lunar science and technology.

What's next? China is moving fast towards its goal of landing astronauts on the Moon by 2030. Key technologies are already under development. On 17 June, for example, the country tested an unmanned version of its next-generation manned spacecraft, the Mengzhou, to demonstrate its ability to safely evacuate astronauts in an emergency.

All these steps form the basis for the International Lunar Research Station - a vision in which humanity explores and perhaps one day lives together on the Moon.

On this International Moon Day, let us remember: There is only one Moon - and it is the common frontier of all humanity. Through collaboration and innovation, we are shaping one vision and one future - together.

CMG