Posted on 05/20/2002 10:23:21 AM PDT by RightWhale
China planning moon landing as first step to Mars
BEIJING (AFP) May 20, 2002
China may be planning to go to the moon in the course of the next decade, but an exhibition here Monday suggested it has far more ambitious goals -- Mars.
A model at the exhibition, organized for the country's National Science Week, showed China's vision of a permanent settlement on the red planet, a sci-fi fantasy replete with shiny domes and large greenhouses.
"From a long-term perspective, it is a historical necessity for man to travel into space," a poster at the exhibition proclaimed.
Chinese media reported last month that scientists were developing a new family of rockets that supposedly could send explorers to Mars.
While most Chinese scientists admit that a Mars mission is still a distant prospect, some have argued that the relevant technologies might as well be developed now.
One such device, a six-wheel robotic detector which could become China's first representative on the planet, was unveiled at the exhibition, which opened as China renewed vows to push ahead with its fledgling but ambitious space program.
China has yet to even put a man into orbit but official media claim, amid great official secrecy, that great strides are being made.
Its third successful unmanned test flight, the Shenzhou III, or "Divine Vessel III", traveled 108 times around the earth on a flight that ended April
The Shenzhou IV mission is still only being planned, but the state-run China Daily reported Monday that China had already carried out feasibility studies for traveling to the moon.
"Theoretically speaking, China is ready to explore the moon," Ouyang Ziyuan, chief scientist of China's moon exploration program, said according to the paper.
"China is expected to complete its first exploration of the moon in 2010 and will establish a base on the moon as we did in the South Pole and the North Pole," he said.
Chinese media said over the weekend that the nation's space scientists were planning a lunar base in order to exploit its mineral resources.
The Beijing Morning Post said China had adopted a three-step plan that would eventually make it possible to fly to the moon.
China first wants to put an astronaut in space, then establish a space laboratory, and eventually set up a space station, the paper said.
The paper quoted Wang Zhuangyin, a leading space-program engineer, as saying China would probably be able to achieve manned space flight by 2005.
The push to promote China's space program during National Science Week tallies with observers' claim that the plans are meant to trigger greater interest in technology among the public.
The tone at the exhibition also showed there is a great deal of self-interest involved in China's bid to become the third nation after the United States and the former Soviet Union to put a human in space.
"The development and actual use of technologies for manned space flight have far-reaching significance for our nation in the political, military, economic and technological fields," a poster at the exhibition said.
The Chinese government said in November 2000 that the aims of its space program included meeting growing demands for national security and to "protect China's national interests and build up comprehensive national strength".
I'm not really arguing about their technological capability to do this; rather, I'm raising the BS flag based on what's being said, what's being planned, and the timetable being given, which point to this being a political effort.
I personally do not believe that the Chinese political landscape can sustain the effort required to make it work.
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