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China Unveils Robotic Workforce for Lunar Base Construction by 2035
China revealed a semi-humanoid robot with wheeled mobility and a methalox-powered cargo lander to enable construction and logistics for its International Lunar Research Station.
Yesterday, exhibitors at CACE 2026 in Shanghai showed the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology's lunar cargo lander and Beijing Institute of Spacecraft System Engineering's semi-humanoid robot for the International Lunar Research Station.
On March 3, Chinese authorities issued a national standard for humanoid robots and embodied intelligence, while Premier Li Qiang highlighted embodied intelligence as a priority in the 15th Five-Year Plan .
Engineered for lunar conditions, the semi-humanoid robot combines a waist rotating 180 degrees and bending 90 degrees with a hand offering four degrees of freedom on a wheeled active-suspension platform with metal-mesh wheels with steel-wire treads.
While no official program has been announced, CMSEO's lander concept and SISP's 300-newton engine tests could prompt competition if procurement opens.
China's lunar timeline includes the Chang'e-7 mission later this year to study south-pole ice, the crewed lunar program aiming for a landing before 2030, and an economical lunar cargo lander family delivering 120–5,000 kg.