China announces intention to send astronauts to the moon before 2039, which would mark another milestone in what is being viewed as a new space competition.
At a news conference on Monday, Lin Xiqiang, deputy director of the Chinese Manned Space Agency, confirmed China's objective but did not provide a particular deadline.
Lin added that China intends to build a new module to its orbiting crewed space station. On Tuesday, a brand-new three-person crew is slated to depart for the Tiangong station onboard the Shenzhou 16 vessel, momentarily joining the three astronauts already there.
The fresh crew includes a civilian for the first time. All previous crew members have been in the People’s Liberation Army, the military wing of the country’s ruling Communist Party.
In addition to mission commander Jing Haipeng and spacecraft engineer Zhu Yangzhu, the payload specialist will be Gui Haichao, a professor at Beijing's premier aerospace research facility.
In November, China finished building the third of three modules for the Tiangong space station, which is centered on the Tianhe living and command module.
China’s first manned space mission in 2003 made it the third country after the former Soviet Union and the US to put a person into space.
At a news conference on Monday, Lin Xiqiang, deputy director of the Chinese Manned Space Agency, confirmed China's objective but did not provide a particular deadline.
Lin added that China intends to build a new module to its orbiting crewed space station. On Tuesday, a brand-new three-person crew is slated to depart for the Tiangong station onboard the Shenzhou 16 vessel, momentarily joining the three astronauts already there.
The fresh crew includes a civilian for the first time. All previous crew members have been in the People’s Liberation Army, the military wing of the country’s ruling Communist Party.
In addition to mission commander Jing Haipeng and spacecraft engineer Zhu Yangzhu, the payload specialist will be Gui Haichao, a professor at Beijing's premier aerospace research facility.
In November, China finished building the third of three modules for the Tiangong space station, which is centered on the Tianhe living and command module.
China’s first manned space mission in 2003 made it the third country after the former Soviet Union and the US to put a person into space.
