Researchers say China’s lunar lander has three backup engines, unlike US design which relies on one main power source
2-MIN READ2-MIN ListenStephen Chenin BeijingPublished: 8:00pm, 13 Jun 2026In the 21st century race to the moon, there is a question that engineers must ask: what happens when the main engine fails?China and the United States are answering this in contrasting ways. Their answers could reveal the value they place on human life.
On the descent stage, one main engine controls the entire fall from lunar orbit to the surface. On the ascent stage, one main engine is the only ticket home.
If that one engine fails, there is no backup. This design, to quote a peer-reviewed paper published in the journal Chinese Space Science and Technology in March, “contains some glaring weaknesses”.
