SpaceRocket

Long March 10 vs SLS

The Long March 10 and the Space Launch System are the two rockets built to take humans back to the Moon — one for China's crewed lunar program, one for NASA's Artemis campaign. The SLS Block 1 has already flown: it sent an uncrewed Orion around the Moon on Artemis I in 2022, making it the reference point every lunar rocket is measured against. The Long March 10 is China's answer — a three-core, kerosene-fuelled design derived from Long March 5 technology, sized to send a crewed spacecraft toward the Moon later this decade.

The two programs embody opposite acquisition philosophies: SLS is government-directed, fully expendable, and costs over $2 billion per flight, reusing Shuttle-era engines and boosters. The Long March 10 is newer in design and, in its planned variants, incorporates first-stage recovery — a sign of how thoroughly the reusable era has reshaped even crewed deep-space launch.

Long March 10, China's crewed lunar launcher, on the pad
Long March 10, China's crewed lunar launcher, on the pad — Shujianyang/Wikimedia Commons via TheSpaceDevs
Long March 10B lifting off on its successful first flight
Long March 10B lifting off on its successful first flight — China News Service, CC BY 4.0
Long March 10 first-stage engines during a hot fire test
Long March 10 first-stage engines during a hot fire test — China News Service, CC BY 3.0
SLS lifting off on the Artemis I mission from Pad 39B
SLS lifting off on the Artemis I mission from Pad 39B — NASA/Joel Kowsky
Artemis I SLS and Orion rolling out to Launch Complex 39B
Artemis I SLS and Orion rolling out to Launch Complex 39B — NASA/Frank Michaux
RS-25 engine certification test at NASA's Stennis Space Center
RS-25 engine certification test at NASA's Stennis Space Center — NASA Stennis
Metric
Long March 10
Long March 10

China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation · Chinese

Space Launch System (SLS)
Space Launch System (SLS)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration · American

LEO Capacity(kg)
70,000
95,000
GTO Capacity(kg)
—
—
Height(m)
92.5
98
Diameter(m)
5
8.4
Launch Mass(t)
2,189
2,628
Total Launches
0
2
Success Rate
—
100%
Landing Success
—
—
StatusActiveActive
ReusableExpendableExpendable

Head-to-head charts

Payload capacity(metric tons)

Size

Launch record

The short answer

SLS has flown and carries the Artemis manifest; the Long March 10 is the only other crewed-lunar rocket in serious development. The 2030 Moon race runs through this table.

Read the in-depth article →Open in the interactive compare tool →Browse the rocket library →

More in US–China Head-to-Head

Falcon 9 vs Long March 5Long March 5B vs Falcon Heavy

Data: Launch Library 2 (TheSpaceDevs) — served from the SpaceRocket launch database.