China Reveals Their Plan to Put Astronauts on the Moon by 2030

On Tuesday, China revealed a new crew for their orbiting space station—a start for their plan to put astronauts on the moon by 2030.

The three-person crew, which includes the first civilian astronaut, launched off from a station in the Gobi desert early Tuesday morning. This new crew will be replacing astronauts who have been in space for nearly six months.

This comes after an announcement on Monday by Chinese officials, who stated their space program has a goal to have astronauts on the moon in the next 10 years, along with the expansion of their orbiting space program.

Many feel this announcement has a similar feeling to the 1960 and 1970 Space Race between the United States and Soviet Union,  as the U.S. also has plans to put astronauts on the lunar surface by 2025.

Lin Xiqiang, the Deputy Director of the Chinese Manned Space Agency, told reporters that the astronauts are preparing for a “short stay on the lunar surface and human-robotic joint exploration.”

Xiqiang also stated that the country has a “nearly completed” Earth human space station and a human round-trip transportation system.

Though the deputy director of China’s space agency has confirmed the country’s goals for their space programs, no specific dates have been revealed.