Chinese astronauts for the upcoming Shenzhou-16 mission,
from left, Gui Haichao, Jing Haipeng, and Zhu Yangzhu wave as they stand
behind glass during a meeting with the press at the Jiuquan Satellite
Launch Center in northwest China on Monday, May 29, 2023. China's space
program plans to land astronauts on the moon before 2030, a top official
with the country's space program said Monday. Credit: AP Photo/Mark
Schiefelbein
China plans to land astronauts on the moon before 2030, in what would
be another advance in what's increasingly seen as a new space race
pitting the Asian autocracy against the United States and its democratic
allies.
The U.S. aims to put astronauts back on the lunar surface by the end of 2025.
Deputy Director of the Chinese Manned Space Agency Lin Xiqiang
confirmed China's goal at a news conference Monday but gave no specific
date.
China is first preparing for a "short stay on the lunar surface and human-robotic joint exploration," Lin said.
"We have a complete near-Earth human space
station and human round-trip transportation system," complemented by a
process for selecting, training and supporting new astronauts, he said. A
schedule of two crewed missions a year is "sufficient for carrying out
our objectives," Lin said.
China's space agency also introduced the new crew heading to its
orbiting space station in a launch scheduled for Tuesday and said the
station will be expanded. The Tiangong space station was said to have
been finished in November when the third section was added.
The fourth module will be added "at an appropriate time to advance support for scientific experiments and provide the crew with improved working and living conditions," Lin said.
Chinese astronauts for the upcoming Shenzhou-16 mission
from left, Gui Haichao, Jing Haipeng and Zhu Yangzhu behind glass meet
the reporters at a press conference at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch
Center ahead of the launch mission from Jiuquan in northwestern China,
Monday, May 29, 2023. China's space program plans to land astronauts on
the moon before 2030, a top official with the country's space program
said Monday. Credit: AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein
The trio being launched aboard the Shenzhou 16 craft will overlap
briefly with the three astronauts who have lived on the station for the
previous six months conducting experiments and assembling equipment
inside and outside the vehicle.
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.
Gui Haichao, a professor at Beijing's top aerospace research
institute, will join mission commander Jing Haipeng and spacecraft
engineer Zhu Yangzhu as the payload expert.
Speaking to media at the launch site outside the northwestern
city of Jiuquan, Jing said the mission marked "a new stage of
application and development," in China's space program.
"We firmly believe that the spring of China's space science
has arrived, and we have the determination, confidence, and ability to
resolutely complete the mission," said Jing, a major general who has
made three previous space flights.
Staff members take photos of a billboard depicting
Chinese astronauts at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest
China on Monday, May 29, 2023. China's space program plans to land
astronauts on the moon before 2030, a top official with the country's
space program said Monday. Credit: AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein
China's first manned space mission in 2003 made
it the third country after the former Soviet Union and the U.S. to put a
person into space.
China built its own space station after it was excluded from the
International Space Station, largely due to U.S. objections over the
Chinese space programs' intimate ties to the PLA.
Space is increasingly seen as a new area of competition between
China and the United States—the world's two largest economies and rivals
for diplomatic and military influence. The astronauts NASA sends to the
moon by the end of 2025 will aim for the south pole where permanently shadowed craters are believed to be packed with frozen water.
Plans for permanent crewed bases on the moon are also being
considered by both countries, raising questions about rights and
interests on the lunar surface .
U.S. law tightly restricts cooperation between the two countries' space
programs and while China says it welcomes foreign collaborations, those
have thus far been limited to scientific research.
Lin Xiqiang, Deputy Director of the Chinese Manned Space
Agency speaks during a press conference at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch
Center in northwest China on Monday, May 29, 2023. China's space program
plans to land astronauts on the moon before 2030, a top official with
the country's space program said Monday. Credit: AP Photo/Mark
Schiefelbein
Chinese astronauts for the upcoming Shenzhou-16 mission
from left, Gui Haichao, Jing Haipeng and Zhu Yangzhu are seen behind
glass during a meeting of the press at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch
Center in northwest China on Monday, May 29, 2023. China's space program
plans to land astronauts on the moon before 2030, a top official with
the country's space program said Monday. Credit: AP Photo/Mark
Schiefelbein
Chinese astronauts for the upcoming Shenzhou-16 mission
from left, Gui Haichao, Jing Haipeng and Zhu Yangzhu behind glass wave
as they meet the reporters at a press conference at the Jiuquan
Satellite Launch Center ahead of the launch mission from Jiuquan in
northwestern China, Monday, May 29, 2023. China's space program plans to
land astronauts on the moon before 2030, a top official with the
country's space program said Monday. Credit: AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein
Chinese astronaut for the upcoming Shenzhou-16 mission
Zhu Yangzhu waves as he meets the reporters at a press conference at the
Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center ahead of the launch mission from
Jiuquan in northwestern China, Monday, May 29, 2023. China's space
program plans to land astronauts on the moon before 2030, a top official
with the country's space program said Monday. Credit: AP Photo/Mark
Schiefelbein
Chinese astronaut for the upcoming Shenzhou-16 mission
Gui Haichao, left, speaks next to his mission commander Jing Haipeng as
they meet the reporters at a press conference at the Jiuquan Satellite
Launch Center ahead of the launch mission from Jiuquan in northwestern
China, Monday, May 29, 2023. China's space program plans to land
astronauts on the moon before 2030, a top official with the country's
space program said Monday. Credit: AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein
Zhu Yangzhu, a Chinese astronaut for the upcoming
Shenzhou-16 mission, speaks behind glass during a meeting of the press
at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on Monday, May
29, 2023. China's space program plans to land astronauts on the moon
before 2030, a top official with the country's space program said
Monday. Credit: AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein
Chinese astronaut for the upcoming Shenzhou-16 mission
Gui Haichao, left, waves as he stands with fellow astronaut Jing Haipeng
behind glass during a meeting of the press at the Jiuquan Satellite
Launch Center in northwest China on Monday, May 29, 2023. China's space
program plans to land astronauts on the moon before 2030, a top official
with the country's space program said Monday. Credit: AP Photo/Mark
Schiefelbein
Chinese astronauts for the upcoming Shenzhou-16 mission,
front to back, Jing Haipeng, Zhu Yangzhu, and Gui Haichao arrive for a
meeting of the press at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest
China on Monday, May 29, 2023. China's space program plans to land
astronauts on the moon before 2030, a top official with the country's
space program said Monday. Credit: AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein
Jing Haipeng, a Chinese astronaut for the upcoming
Shenzhou-16 mission, waves behind glass during a meeting of the press at
the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on Monday, May
29, 2023. China's space program plans to land astronauts on the moon
before 2030, a top official with the country's space program said
Monday. Credit: AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein
Chinese astronauts for the upcoming Shenzhou-16 mission
Gui Haichao, left, and Jing Haipeng stand behind glass during a meeting
with the press at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China
on Monday, May 29, 2023. China's space program plans to land astronauts
on the moon before 2030, a top official with the country's space
program said Monday. Credit: AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein
A journalist asks a question of Chinese astronauts for
the upcoming Shenzhou-16 mission, from, Gui Haichao, Jing Haipeng, and
Zhu Yangzhu as they stand behind glass during a meeting of the press at
the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on Monday, May
29, 2023. China's space program plans to land astronauts on the moon
before 2030, a top official with the country's space program said
Monday. Credit: AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein
Chinese astronauts for the upcoming Shenzhou-16 mission,
from left, Gui Haichao, Jing Haipeng, and Zhu Yangzhu stand behind glass
during a meeting with the press at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center
in northwest China on Monday, May 29, 2023. China's space program plans
to land astronauts on the moon before 2030, a top official with the
country's space program said Monday. Credit: AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein
A staff member takes a smartphone photo of Gui Haichao, a
Chinese astronaut as he stands behind glass during a meeting with the
press at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on
Monday, May 29, 2023. China's space program plans to land astronauts on
the moon before 2030, a top official with the country's space program
said Monday. Credit: AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein
Gui Haichao, a Chinese astronaut for the upcoming
Shenzhou-16 mission stands behind glass during a meeting with the press
at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on Monday, May
29, 2023. China's space program plans to land astronauts on the moon
before 2030, a top official with the country's space program said
Monday. Credit: AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein
Staff members walk past a billboard depicting Chinese
astronauts at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on
Monday, May 29, 2023. China's space program plans to land astronauts on
the moon before 2030, a top official with the country's space program
said Monday. Credit: AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein
Staff members pose for a photo in front of a billboard
depicting Chinese astronauts at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in
northwest China on Monday, May 29, 2023. China's space program plans to
land astronauts on the moon before 2030, a top official with the
country's space program said Monday. Credit: AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein
A staff member takes a smartphone photo of Chinese
astronauts for the upcoming Shenzhou-16 mission, from left, Gui Haichao,
Jing Haipeng, and Zhu Yangzhu as they stand behind glass during a
meeting of the press at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest
China on Monday, May 29, 2023. China's space program plans to land
astronauts on the moon before 2030, a top official with the country's
space program said Monday. Credit: AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein
Chinese astronauts for the upcoming Shenzhou-16 mission,
from left, Gui Haichao, Jing Haipeng, and Zhu Yangzhu stand behind glass
during a meeting with the press at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center
in northwest China on Monday, May 29, 2023. China's space program plans
to land astronauts on the moon before 2030, a top official with the
country's space program said Monday. Credit: AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein
Chinese astronauts for the upcoming Shenzhou-16 mission,
from left, Gui Haichao, Jing Haipeng, and Zhu Yangzhu stand behind glass
during a meeting with the press at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center
in northwest China on Monday, May 29, 2023. China's space program plans
to land astronauts on the moon before 2030, a top official with the
country's space program said Monday. Credit: AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein
Chinese astronauts for the upcoming Shenzhou-16 mission,
from left, Gui Haichao, Jing Haipeng, and Zhu Yangzhu wave as they stand
behind glass during a meeting with the press at the Jiuquan Satellite
Launch Center in northwest China on Monday, May 29, 2023. China's space
program plans to land astronauts on the moon before 2030, a top official
with the country's space program said Monday. Credit: AP Photo/Mark
Schiefelbein
Lin Xiqiang, Deputy Director of the Chinese Manned Space
Agency, center, speaks during a press conference at the Jiuquan
Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on Monday, May 29, 2023.
China's space program plans to land astronauts on the moon before 2030, a
top official with the country's space program said Monday. Credit: AP
Photo/Mark Schiefelbein
Lin Xiqiang, Deputy Director of the Chinese Manned Space
Agency, center, speaks during a press conference at the Jiuquan
Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on Monday, May 29, 2023.
China's space program plans to land astronauts on the moon before 2030, a
top official with the country's space program said Monday. Credit: AP
Photo/Mark Schiefelbein
Lin Xiqiang, Deputy Director of the Chinese Manned Space
Agency speaks during a press conference at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch
Center in northwest China on Monday, May 29, 2023. China's space program
plans to land astronauts on the moon before 2030, a top official with
the country's space program said Monday. Credit: AP Photo/Mark
Schiefelbein
Chinese astronauts for the upcoming Shenzhou-16 mission
from left, Gui Haichao, Jing Haipeng and Zhu Yangzhu are seen behind
glass during a meeting of the press at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch
Center in northwest China on Monday, May 29, 2023. China's space program
plans to land astronauts on the moon before 2030, a top official with
the country's space program said Monday. Credit: AP Photo/Mark
Schiefelbein
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