[meteorite-list] Footsteps...

[Pete Pete]

http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/space/11/04/china.moon.reut/index.html


China eyes 2017 moon landing

Friday, November 4, 2005; Posted: 10:12 a.m. EST (15:12 GMT)


BEIJING, China (Reuters) -- China, which launched its first manned space 
mission just two years ago, plans to put a man on the moon around 2017 and 
investigate what may be the perfect source of fuel, a newspaper reported on 
Friday.

Two Chinese astronauts orbited Earth for five days last month in the 
Shenzhou VI and China was now developing new craft up to the Shenzhou X, 
eyeing a permanent space station and an eventual moon mission, state media 
said this week.

"China will make a manned moon landing at a proper time, around 2017," 
leading scientist Ouyang Ziyuan was quoted by the Southern Metropolis News 
as saying.

The project also includes setting up a moon-based astronomical telescope, 
measuring the thickness of the moon's soil and the amount of helium-3 on the 
moon -- an element some researchers say is a perfect, non-polluting fuel 
source.

Some scientists believe there is enough helium-3 on the moon to power the 
world for thousands of years.

"We will provide the most reliable report on helium-3 to mankind," Ouyang 
said.

The United States unveiled a $104 billion plan in September to return 
Americans to the moon by 2018. Its Apollo program carried the first humans 
to the moon in 1969.

China's first lunar orbiter could blast off as early as 2007, coinciding 
with its third manned space trip in which possibly three men would orbit 
Earth in Shenzhou VII and conduct a space walk. (Full story)

China was designing a rocket that could carry a payload of 25 tons, up from 
a present limit of eight tons, the Beijing News reported this week, though 
it would unlikely be ready for another six-and-a-half years.