China plans to land its astronaut on the surface of a natural earth satellite by 2030. The China Manned Spaceflight Program Administration (CMSA) announced this on Monday.
"According to the plan of the manned lunar exploration project, the Chinese will land on the moon for the first time by 2030, during this mission two astronauts will operate a manned lunar rover to conduct research work," the agency said in a statement posted on its WeChat social network account.
The Taikonauts will be able to navigate the lunar rover on the surface of the moon. The apparatus will be equipped with the function of determining the location, the department specifies.
China has been developing space research programs for several years. In January 2004, China's State Council approved a national program to explore the moon, and in January 2019 a spacecraft reached its back side for the first time. The mission was carried out by the Chang'e-4 interplanetary automatic station with the Yutu-2 moon rover.
On November 24, 2020, the Changcheng-5 launch vehicle was launched from Wenchang Space Center on Hainan Island. It sent the Chang'e-5 to the moon, which returned to Earth about 23 days after launch, collecting about 2 kg of lunar soil for study by Chinese experts, both for scientific purposes and for a project to prepare for the construction of a research base.
In May 2024, Chang'e-6 is scheduled to collect samples from a crater on the back side of the Moon to study micronutrients and isotopes.
