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China hoping rocket that can send people to the moon will be ready to launch by 2027
- The head of the country’s biggest space contractor says the rocket will be able to carry a lunar orbiter and lander for a three-person mission
- Other planned Chinese missions include collecting samples from Mars, deep space exploration and a search for habitable planets outside the solar system
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China may launch a new vessel capable of carrying its first crewed mission to the moon as early as 2027, according to the head of the country’s biggest space contractor.
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Wu Yansheng, chairman of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp (CASC), told a youth forum that this “new generation of rockets” – sometimes referred to under the codename “921 rocket” – would be able to carry a three-person orbiter and a moon lander that would be able to carry two crew members.
Wu also revealed other details about China’s space ambitions in his speech, which was published on CASC’s website on Friday and outlined plans to explore other planets – and even travel beyond the solar system to look for places that could support human life.
The plans include more Chang’e missions, which aim to bring samples from the far side of the moon back to Earth in 2026, an environmental and resource survey at the south pole of the moon the following year, and establish a research station also at the south pole in 2028.
Chinese space authorities have indicated they hope to send astronauts to the moon by around 2030 – but have not committed to a specific date.
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