China has revealed its plan to put a man on the moon, thereby becoming the second country after the US to do so. The mission is expected to take place before 2030, said the state-run news agency.
Interestingly, the revelation by China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) comes as India readies for the launch of Chandrayaan- 3, India's lunar exploration mission.
Zhang Hailian, deputy chief engineer with the CMSA, said the plan was part of the project to establish a lunar research station aimed at carrying out moon exploration tasks and other experiments.
Zhang added that China will attempt to use two launch vehicles to send a moon surface lander and manned spacecraft into lunar orbit before they carry out rendezvous and docking with each other. "Following this manoeuvre, taikonauts onboard the manned spacecraft will enter the lander," Zhang was quoted by Global Times.
"Taikonauts will carry out scientific exploration and sample collecting after they descend to the moon’s surface using the lander. After completing all preset missions, they will engage the lander to ascend and dock with the manned spacecraft waiting in the lunar orbit," he said.
Then taikonauts return to Earth in manned spacecraft, he added.
His revelations come as China works on the research and development of the Long March-10 carrier rocket, a new-generation manned spacecraft. Work is on for a lunar surface lander and a lunar manned rover that could support two taikonauts.
Work is also on to develop necessary equipment, including moon suits, manned lunar rovers, manned spaceships and moon landers. However, the report did not quote how many astronauts China plans to send to the moon.
China's lunar mission is similar to the US's Apollo programme more than half a century ago in the way that both use the lunar orbit rendezvous (LOR) process.
This is reportedly the most economical way to send humans on a round-trip to the Moon. According to South China Morning Post, the process allows for maximum payload saving, as the bigger command and service spaceship remains in orbit, and only needs to carry fuel for the lightweight lunar lander’s descent and ascent.
China has an extensive space programme and became the third country to land a rover on the moon in 2013. Under Xi Jinping, the country aims to make its space dream stronger and has reportedly spent billions on its ambitious space programme.