A Chinese engineering team has developed a lunar architecture that uses multiple engines to improve mission resilience, raising questions about the safety of NASA's single-engine design.
The design philosophy behind the American lunar architecture depends heavily on a single high-performance main engine responsible for critical mission phases. During descent, that engine governs the entire journey from lunar orbit down to the Moon’s surface.
On ascent, the same single-point system becomes the only means of returning astronauts to lunar orbit. The lack of redundancy means that a malfunction would eliminate any backup option, a concern highlighted in a peer-reviewed study published inadopts a multi-engine approach. Developed by a Shanghai-based national laboratory team, it uses four variable-thrust engines producing over 30 kilonewtons collectively. Even if one engine fails entirely, the remaining three would still deliver thrust comparable to the main engine of NASA’s Orion spacecraft.
Beyond the primary propulsion system, the design includes an additional safeguard layer intended to improve mission resilience. If the main engines were to become inoperative, six smaller orbit-control thrusters can still be activated on the lunar surface, providing an alternative pathway for a rapid ascent.
This redundancy raises a broader engineering question: if multiple engines offer greater safety than a single one, why are they not universally adopted, The constraint is mass, as additional engines typically increase overall vehicle weight, reducing efficiency and payload capacity. The Chinese engineering team addressed this trade-off through a structural optimization known as a common bulkhead tank, which integrates fuel storage more efficiently and reduces excess mass while still enabling a multi-engine configuration.introduced a new tank design in a crewed deep-space vehicle that uses a pressure-fed system, where fuel and oxidiser are separated by a shared wall, often called a “common bottom.
” In earlier lunar lander designs, the two propellants were stored in completely separate tanks, which added extra structural weight and took up more space inside the vehicle. By combining them into a single structure with a shared barrier, the system reduces unnecessary duplication in the tank framework. According to the researchers, this change cuts weight at the “hundred-kilogram level,” making the overall design more efficient without sacrificing capacity or performance.
The reduction in mass created by this design enables the use of four engines instead of a single main unit, increasing redundancy without exceeding launch constraints. Built from composite materials, the tank achieves more than a 20 per cent weight reduction compared to traditional metal alternatives. Beyond storing propellant, the structure also serves a dual purpose as a load-bearing component of the spacecraft, effectively becoming part of the vehicle’s frame and improving overall mass efficiency.
The approach is backed by experimental validation, with the paper drawing on results from full-system hot-fire tests. These tests provide real-world performance data under operating conditions, confirming the feasibility of the integrated structural and propulsion design. Test results indicate that the four variable-thrust engines can be closely coordinated, keeping thrust variation within less than 100 Newtons. This level of precision is crucial for preventing unstable motion that could cause the lander to tumble during critical flight phases.
The experiments also suggest that pressure challenges within the common bulkhead tank can be effectively managed. Replicating this kind of system would be difficult for any other space programme. It requires highly precise autonomous control of pressure inside a shared-tank structure operating with very narrow safety margins.
In addition, it demands tightly synchronised performance across multiple throttling engines, a task that becomes significantly more complex as each additionalBojan Stojkovski is a freelance journalist based in Skopje, North Macedonia, covering foreign policy and technology for more than a decade. His work has appeared in Foreign Policy, ZDNet, and Nature.
Please follow us on Google to support usChinese Lunar Architecture Multi-Engine Design Space Mission Resilience Engine Redundancy Structural Optimization
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News: You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
The Incentive Dynamic Engine: A New Era for io.net Tokenomicsio.net's IDE ties token burns to real GPU demand, replacing fixed emissions with a demand-linked model - live as of 11 June 2026.
Read more »
Audi Q7 Review: Third Generation Arrives With Diesel Engine OptionThe Audi Q7 has entered its third generation and is surprising car buyers by coming with a diesel engine. The seven-seater is more than 20 years old and has an entirely new look - but it's the German carmaker's decision to avoid a multi-powertrain lineup and opt for a sole 3.0-litre diesel V6 that's causing a stir. And the fact the Q7 can run on vegetable oil. This is quite different to the Q7's luxury European rivals such as the Mercedes GLE and BMW X7 which offer a range of engines and push towards plug-in hybrids. But even more notably, Audi's approach is the antithesis to cheaper Chinese 'luxe' options which come as plug-in hybrids and offer EV-only ranges of up to 91 miles. The Q7 interior has been entirely restyled too, and the large family SUV has moved onto the Audi's new Premium Platform Combustion architecture. How much will all of these changes cost you? Just under £82,000 minimum - over £36,000 more than the new Jaecoo 8 from China's Chery Group and a massive amount for today's cash-strapped car buyers. After more than 20 years the Audi Q7 arrives in its third iteration and it's coming as a diesel SUV, with the option to be run on hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO)
Read more »
New alloys cut truck engine weight by 15%, boost fuel efficiency by 10%The advanced aluminum alloys could allow for far lighter truck engines still capable of operating at higher temperatures.
Read more »
Lunar Announces Retailer Alcohol Event For San Diego Comic-Con 2026Lunar Distribution announces their comic book retailer alcohol meet-and-greet event for San Diego Comic-Con 2026
Read more »