(Yicai) Feb. 13 -- Guangzhou Automobile Group has said the major Chinese state-owned carmaker is involved in developing the manned rover that will be used when China sends a crewed mission to the moon.

GAC is working with the Space Technology Research Institute of China Aerospace Science and Technology to create the prototype crewed moon rover, the Guangzhou-based firm said yesterday. That includes support for the chassis design, styling, performance testing, and integration verification.

China announced plans in 2023 for its first manned lunar landing by 2030. During the mission two taikonauts will drive a lunar vehicle to carry out scientific research in the moon. The rover will also play a key role in future exploration missions.

In May 2023, the space agency solicited proposals for the development of crewed lunar rovers. After a year and a half, and two rounds of competition, teams from GAC and Hong Kong Polytechnic University were chosen to work on the prototype.

The China Manned Space Agency also announced yesterday that following public consultation, the names of the lunar mission's spacesuit and manned rover have been decided. They are Wangyu and Tansuo, respectively.

Tansuo has a modular, foldable design and can carry two taokonauts. It will be capable of rapid movement over rugged terrain, navigation and positioning, safety assistance, real-time communications with Earth, and efficiently ferry payloads and supplies. It also needs to work with other facilities and equipment to enable joint man-machine exploration on the moon’s surface.

Both the spacesuit and the rover are in the prototype development stage, with all tasks progressing smoothly.

Editor: Tom Litting