The Deputy head Of the center for lunar research and space engineering of the Chinese national space administration said that the Chinese authorities ' spending on space will increase
WENCHANG / China/, November 23. /TASS/. Chinese authorities and government experts are discussing the possibility of sending astronauts to the moon in the near future and choosing the right moment "in accordance with scientific tasks and taking into account economic factors." This was stated on Tuesday by the Deputy head Of the center for lunar research and space engineering of the Chinese national space administration (CNSA), the official representative of the Chang'e-5 project, Pei Zhaoyu.
"As for the prospect of landing Chinese cosmonauts on the moon, this project is related to manned missions, we are discussing these issues," he said at a press conference, answering a question from a TASS correspondent. "The time for implementing the relevant project will be chosen in accordance with the scientific tasks we face, taking into account technical and economic parameters."
According to the Deputy head of the center, Beijing is going to explore the moon both with the help of astronauts and with the participation of robots. "China is successfully developing its aerospace technologies. We will focus on national developments, according to which we plan to set new goals for further growth," said Pei Zhaoyu.
As he noted, the progress of the space program is directly related to the success of China's economic growth. The official representative noted that the Chinese authorities ' spending on space will increase.
"At the moment, it is difficult to give an accurate estimate of how much the Chinese Chang'e-5 project ultimately cost, since the funding concerns not only the current mission, but also ground facilities intended for operation over a long period of time," Pei Zhaoyu said. "In addition, I believe that in the future, our lunar exploration activities will be more and more complex, so China's spending on the lunar program will continue to grow."
China's moon exploration activities
China has started the next stage of its lunar program and soon, thanks to the returning Chang'e-5 spacecraft, plans to receive soil samples from The earth's natural satellite.
In January 2004, the state Council of the people's Republic of China approved the national program "Chang'e" for lunar exploration, and in October 2007, the first stage of the project "Chang'e-1" was launched, which took pictures from lunar orbit and broadcast from there the Patriotic song "Ode to the Motherland" by Chinese composer Wang Shen. "Chang'e-2" was sent into space in October 2010, its task was to study the conditions and choose a place for a future lunar landing. Chang'e-3 was launched in December 2013, the same month it made the first soft landing on the lunar surface in the history of Chinese cosmonautics.
The country made another breakthrough in January 2019, when for the first time a spacecraft reached the far side of the moon. The mission was completed by the Chang'e-4 interplanetary automatic station with the Yutu-2 lunar Rover.