[meteorite-list] Footsteps...

From: Pete Pete <rsvp321_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Sat Nov 5 02:24:35 2005
Message-ID: <BAY104-F176CB8E96FA741BD756325F8630_at_phx.gbl>

http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/space/11/04/china.moon.reut/index.html


China eyes 2017 moon landing

Friday, November 4, 2005; Posted: 10:12 a.m. EST (15:12 GMT)


BEIJING, China (Reuters) -- China, which launched its first manned space
mission just two years ago, plans to put a man on the moon around 2017 and
investigate what may be the perfect source of fuel, a newspaper reported on
Friday.

Two Chinese astronauts orbited Earth for five days last month in the
Shenzhou VI and China was now developing new craft up to the Shenzhou X,
eyeing a permanent space station and an eventual moon mission, state media
said this week.

"China will make a manned moon landing at a proper time, around 2017,"
leading scientist Ouyang Ziyuan was quoted by the Southern Metropolis News
as saying.

The project also includes setting up a moon-based astronomical telescope,
measuring the thickness of the moon's soil and the amount of helium-3 on the
moon -- an element some researchers say is a perfect, non-polluting fuel
source.

Some scientists believe there is enough helium-3 on the moon to power the
world for thousands of years.

"We will provide the most reliable report on helium-3 to mankind," Ouyang
said.

The United States unveiled a $104 billion plan in September to return
Americans to the moon by 2018. Its Apollo program carried the first humans
to the moon in 1969.

China's first lunar orbiter could blast off as early as 2007, coinciding
with its third manned space trip in which possibly three men would orbit
Earth in Shenzhou VII and conduct a space walk. (Full story)

China was designing a rocket that could carry a payload of 25 tons, up from
a present limit of eight tons, the Beijing News reported this week, though
it would unlikely be ready for another six-and-a-half years.
Received on Sat 05 Nov 2005 02:24:31 AM PST