A NEW SPACE RACE

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.

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.

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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29 May 2023

A NEW SPACE RACE

China plans to land astronauts on moon before 2030, another step in what looks like a new space race

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