China is on track in its space exploration agenda, as the country is looking to push forward several missions to the moon and beyond by 2030, SpaceNews.com reported.
Details of China’s space exploration plans were made clearer by Yulong Tian, secretary-general of the China National Space Administration (CNSA), during the 33rd Space Symposium on Wednesday, April 5.
According to SpaceNews.com. CNSA is China’s leading governmental body when it comes to the development of “space activities for civilian use and international space cooperation with other countries.”
In the symposium, Yulong outlined several points from China’s 2016 “Space White Paper,” where the nation sketched out robotic and manned spaceflight projects, commercial space flights, and Earth and space science, for the next five years.
“China is currently making policy for commercial space activities,” Yulong told the audience at the symposium.
Yulong also addressed the Beidou navigation system, stating that, “by 2020, 30 satellites can provide services for global users.” These spacecraft, Yulong said, will monitor land, ocean, and space in the oncoming decade.
In addition, Yulong reviewed China’s space cooperation agreements, of which it has over a 100, with at least 30 countries and space agencies to foster cooperation in climate change research, deep space exploration, space safety and disaster prevention.
For the next ten years, China has also set its sights on making deep space missions, sending spacecraft to Venus, Jupiter, and several asteroids.
As for projects that are closer to the present, a cargo supply ship latched on a Long March 7 rocket is ready for launch this April. It will head to the Tiangong-2 space lab. The mission is expected to help future building and resupplying missions, particularly for larger space stations.
Meanwhile, work on the Chang’e-5 lunar probe is well underway to prepare it for its scheduled liftoff in November. It will launch from the Wenchang Space Launch Center in Hainan Province to make its voyage to the moon.