China is making “preliminary” preparations to send a man to the moon, state media cited a senior space official as saying, the latest goal in China’s ambitious lunar exploration program.
China in 2003 became the third country to put a man in space with its own rocket after the former Soviet Union and the US.
It has touted its plans for moon exploration and in late 2013 completed the first lunar “soft landing” since 1976 with the Chang’e-3 craft and its Jade Rabbit rover.
The country also plans to land the first probe ever on the dark side of the moon next year, another milestone.
China Manned Space Agency Deputy Director-General Yang Liwei (楊利偉), who was China’s first man in space — said it would “not take long” for the manned mission to the moon to get official approval and funding, Xinhua news agency said late on Tuesday.
The report gave no other details, but such a trip could still be many years off.
A government official last year said that China wants to put astronauts on the moon by 2036, in what state media said was the country’s first confirmation of a manned lunar exploration program.
Advancing China’s space program is a priority for Beijing, with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) calling for the country to establish itself as a major space power.
China insists its program is for peaceful purposes, but the US Department of Defense has highlighted China’s increasing space capabilities, saying it is pursuing activities aimed to prevent adversaries from using space-based assets in a crisis.
Apart from its civilian ambitions, Beijing has tested anti-satellite missiles, and US Congress has banned NASA from engaging in cooperation with its Chinese counterpart due to security concerns.
China’s space budget is still only about one-tenth of the US’ outlays, officials have said.
According to Chinese state media, China spends about US$2 billion a year on its space program, although details are vague.
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese