China to the Moon … Again
A couple of months ago, I posted about China’s space program (and NASA’s interest in it).
Well, China’s back in the news with plans for moon exploration. Or, rather, the major news media has caught on to China’s lunar ambitions.
A top official in China’s space program has set 2024 for the country’s first moonwalk, a Hong Kong newspaper reported on Monday, cementing its position as a new space power.
The mission would kick off in earnest next year, the Beijing-backed Wen Wei Po paper said, when China launches an unmanned lunar satellite in March or April to orbit and survey the lunar surface.
"China now basically possesses the technology, materials and the economic strength" to put a man on the moon, the paper quoted the official as saying.
Of course, if you’ve been reading this blog, this is kind of old news. A couple of months old, anyway.
