China’s Mengzhou spacecraft passes key test for 2030 crewed moon mission with Long March 10 rocket

China has successfully completed a crucial safety test and fired off a new-generation rocket as part of the country’s preparations for a crewed mission to the Moon.Wednesday’s escape test on board the Mengzhou crew carrier was designed to ensure that astronauts could be safely returned to Earth if something went wrong during the launch.The Chinese space programme had already carried out a ground-level safety test in June, but the latest test was designed to check that crew members would be able to escape after lift-off.The test also featured the first flight of a Long March 10 carrier rocket, which is being developed to launch Chinese astronauts to the Moon.The uncrewed vessel took off from the Wenchang Satellite Launch Centre on the southern island of Hainan aboard a Long March 10 prototype test rocket at 11am on Wednesday.The Mengzhou vessel separated from the rocket shortly after launch, before splashing down in the ocean at its designated landing spot, according to state news agency Xinhua.