BEIJING, July 12 (Reuters) - China plans to send two rockets to the moon by 2030, one carrying the spacecraft that will land on the surface and the other transporting the astronauts.
The race to send people to the moon has intensified in recent years with both China and the United States are eyeing potential mineral resources on the moon.
The last NASA crewed landing was in 1972, and U.S. astronauts are expected to return to the moon by 2025.
To meet China's lunar objectives, Chinese researchers are developing the super-heavy Long March 10 carrier rocket, a new-generation crewed spacecraft, a lunar lander, and a crewed lunar rover, according to Zhang.
In 2020, China brought back lunar samples from the moon on an uncrewed mission, making China the third nation to have retrieved lunar samples after the United States and the Soviet Union.
Persons:
Zhang Hailian, Zhang, Ryan Woo, Michael Perry
Organizations:
China Manned Space Agency, China, NASA, U.S, Soviet Union, Thomson
Locations:
BEIJING, China, Wuhan, United States, Mars, Soviet