China鈥檚 ambitious space plans have been extended to building a base on the Moon starting in 2010, a Chinese space official has said. Before that the fledgling space power aims to complete a number of manned missions into space and to establishing an orbiting 鈥渟pace laboratory鈥�.
In a lecture in Beijing during China鈥檚 National Science week, Ouyang Ziyuan, chief scientist with China鈥檚 Moon programme, outlined the country鈥檚 bold space strategy.
鈥淐hina is expected to complete its first exploration of the moon in 2010 and will establish a base on the moon as we did in the South Pole and the North Pole.鈥� China Daily quotes Ziyuan as saying. He did not say whether China鈥檚 mission to the Moon would be manned.
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James Oberg, a veteran of the US space programme and an authority on manned space flight, says China is unlikely to send astronauts to the Moon.
鈥淭hey don鈥檛 have the budget or the technology,鈥� Oberg told 快猫短视频. 鈥淭heir whole approach has been remarkably cautious. Robot missions make much more sense.鈥� But Oberg believes China could feasibly construct a small space station.
China has so far completed three unmanned test flights with its Shenzhou spacecraft and intends to place the first Chinese astronaut in space by 2005. This would make China only the third nation to achieve the feat, after Russia and the US.
Twelve people have been selected to become China鈥檚 first generation of 鈥渢aikonauts鈥� and are undergoing training.