China details future Space Program Plans

[Durandal7]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3166832.stm

More details have been emerging about China's ambitious space programme, just days before the country is expected to launch its first manned space flight.

A top defence official, Wang Shuquan, confirmed what has been reported before in Chinese media - that the country is planning lunar landings after it succeeds in putting a man in space.

And the state-run Beijing Youth Daily newspaper has reported that China plans to send a research satellite to orbit the Moon within the next three years.

A lunar orbiter would be launched by rocket and reach the Moon in eight or nine days, the paper said.

It would circle the Moon for a year, gathering information about the lunar geology, soil, environment and natural resources, it added.

The BBC's correspondent in Beijing, Louisa Lim, says these comments are a sign that Chinese ambitions in space go far beyond a manned space flight.

Should be interesting to see. Hopefully NASA gets off it's lazy ass within the decade and plans manned Mars mission.

 

[Mr. Anderson]

Nothing like a little space race to get things going again....go China - I hope the succeed and everything goes well. In the end I think it will benefit everyone.

D

 

[Durandal7]

I really do hope that China does well, this could spur the United States on.

It's too bad we don't create a Manned Mars Mission initiative, it would give a huge boost to the ailing tech industry. When you think about it we have a large standing work force of engineers looking for work, sounds like prime conditions for a Mars mission.

 

[wdlove]

I wish China well also. NASA should try to do a joint venture with China. Definitely NASA needs focus on the Moon again.

 

[evil]

very weird to even think about. interesting stuff though.

i wish them well.

 

[MrMacMan]

Hey maybe they can pick up the slack of the Russian part of the International Space Station...



go china...

 

[teabgs]

finally someone is doing something.....besides the indepedant people workin on going to the moon.

Seriously, there is no reason for us NOT to have better space flight, possibly colonies on the moon/mars at this point.

 

[Kethoticus]

re: US Manned Missions

Actually (and I've written this before), NASA is indeed planning a manned mission to Mars within the next few decades, sometime between 2020 and 2030. They need to be able to coax Congress to devote the financial resources to the project, however, which they can help along by not crashing their probes onto the surface of the planet.

NASA's safety rep is not in the best shape right now. They need to be able to convince our Federal legislature that such an investment would be a wise one. Now I don't trust the Chinese gov't as far as I could throw it. But if they did start sending people into space, it might just give us the impetus we need. Whatta shame we can't just do it because it's a great thing to do. We gotta have envy and competition and national ego as motivators.

And I do not want to see us share the triumph with anyone. Period. No foreign 'allies'. The more we can pull this off alone, the better it will be for us in terms of reputation, economic investment, etc.

 

[Dont Hurt Me]

pretty amazing china has a way into space and we dont, i allways thought the x-15 concept could have gone a long ways. Nasa with the help of our govt is adrift with no easy,safe way to move men back and forth to space. china will be putting a man up there in the next week or so. its time for focus on a step by step way into space and not some more darn nasa studies and failed projects.

 

[JesseJames]

"You know what makes your rockeships go up? Funding. No bucks, no Buck Rogers."
- Gordo Cooper; "The Right Stuff"