China’s goal is to send astronauts to the moon by 2030

The space race to the moon has accelerated. NASA has already planned a manned mission to the moon, Artemis 3, for 2023. The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) is also planning its own Chandrayaan-3 mission on July 12. And now China has announced ambitious plans to send astronauts. to the Moon before 2030 and will also expand the Earth’s orbital space station.

“We have a complete low-Earth human space station and a system for transporting people back and forth,” complete with a selection, training and support process for new astronauts. A schedule of two manned missions a year is “sufficient to realize our goals,” Lin Shiqiang, deputy director of China’s manned space agency, told reporters at a rare briefing on the military program.

China is preparing to send astronauts to the moon

China’s ambitions are bold, considering that the country has sent astronauts into space all the way to the Tiangong space station. Moreover, China didn’t even land on the moon for the first time until 2013. The Chang’e 5 rover, launched on November 23, 2020, was China’s last lunar mission to return lunar samples.

China’s move is also seen as a response to renewed US efforts to return to the moon and explore its south pole, which is believed to contain frozen water. Interestingly, both the United States and China are considering plans to establish permanent inhabited bases on the Moon.

China has also previously sought foreign cooperation to build its lunar bases. Li Yingliang, chief technology officer of the China Manned Space Flight Agency, said on Monday that China hopes for more international cooperation, including with the United States.

“Our country’s consistent position is that as long as the goal is to use space for peaceful purposes, we are ready to cooperate and communicate with any country or space agency,” Li said.