BEIJING, China, March 20, 2007 - Satnews Daily - China confirms that among the more ambitious goals of its space program until 2010 are to begin construction of a space laboratory and a space walk by Chinese "yuhangyuans" or astronauts.
These goals are among those published by the Commission of Science Technology and Industry for National Defense in its 11th five-year (2006-2010) plan for space science development. The blueprint states that China will continue to conduct manned space flights and Moon exploration missions.
China’s other space exploration plans include a Moon orbit in 2007 to acquire three-dimensional pictures of the lunar surface; the rendezvous and docking of Chinese spacecraft; development of a hard-X ray modulation telescope for China's first astronomical satellite in 2010 that will research black holes; launch of the Shijian (Practice)-10 scientific recoverable satellite in 2009; participation in the space environment exploration program and the World Satellite Observatory of Ultra-Violet Radiation project with Russia and the solar burst exploration mini-satellite project with France and further research on a solar telescope and preliminary research on Kuafu project, a research project to send probes to orbit the Sun
Capping China’s space program will be a landing on the Moon by yuhangyuans in the next decade. Prior to this, China intends to send unmanned probes to map and explore the Moon’s surface for strategic minerals such as titanium and Helium-3.
China's lunar probe project is divided into three phases. The first phase of the program, with a funding of $170 million, involves sending Chang'e I probe to orbit the Moon later this year. Chang'e I will take three-dimensional images of the lunar surface, analyze the content of useful elements and materials and probe the depth of the lunar soil and the space environment between the Earth and the Moon.
Phase 2 involves landing an unmanned vehicle on the Moon by 2010. Collecting samples of lunar soil by an unmanned vehicle by 2020 is the goal of Phase 3.
