China is moving another step closer toward landing a man on the moon, announcing its latest space endeavor includes the launching of a second orbiting lab within the next two years.
“We are going to launch the spacelab Tiangong-2 in 2016, and then we will launch Shenzhou-11 and then Tianzhou-1 cargo spaceship to dock on the space lab,” said astronaut Yang Liwei, who became China’s first man in space in 2003, Agence France-Presse reported.
Beijing considers its space program crucial to show the world its growing influence and rising economy. Mr. Yang also said at the Association of Space Explorers conference in Beijing that China is planning to finish building its space station in 2022 — right around the time the International Space Station that is used by the United States, Russia, Japan, Canada and Europe heads into retirement.
“We believe humans will continue carrying out further space and moon exploration activities,” Mr. Yang said, Newsmax reported. “Research and technology development on this area will continue much further down the track.”
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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