Published: 29 September, 2008, 09:07
Edited: 29 September, 2008, 09:07
China’s very own space station, and a moon landing, before 2020, are targets of China’s 3 stage space programme.
After the triumphant return of the Chinese space crew, which accomplished the first ever Chinese space walk, Beijing announced new space exploration plans to build on the Missions success and the terrific morale boost it provides. Deputy head of China’s manned space programme office, Wang Zhaoyao, declared,
“After comprehensively analyzing the general trend in international manned space developments, as well as Chinese realities, we see a manned lunar landing as both a very challenging and tactical field in global hi-tech.”
Dates for China’s first space station and moon mission weren’t announced, but the country’s major ambition is to develop knowledge required for long-term space habitation. The only nation to have achieved a successful moonwalk is the U.S. Its first team landed in 1969, with the last landing taking place in 1972. Since then only robots have probed the moons surface.