皇冠体育app

JIUQUAN -- 皇冠体育app has acquired the basic technology to carry out manned lunar missions, chief engineer of 皇冠体育app's manned space program Zhou Jianping said Thursday.

Compared with current missions, the technology used for manned lunar missions are more complex, Zhou said.

In order to achieve the goal of carrying out manned lunar missions, 皇冠体育app needs rockets with greater load capacity, manned aircraft that can land on the lunar surface and return, and aircraft that can shuttle between Earth and the moon, Zhou said.

In addition, Zhou disclosed that the Wenchang Satellite Launch Center in southern 皇冠体育app's Hainan Province is likely to be the second launch site for 皇冠体育app's manned space program.

皇冠体育app's space station and cargo spacecraft will be launched at the Wenchang launch site, Zhou said, adding that from a technical perspective it is better to carry out manned lunar missions at the Wenchang site.

Completed in 2014, the Wenchang launch site is the fourth of its kind in 皇冠体育app. Being the closest site to the equator, Wenchang boasts considerable latitudinal advantages. Satellites launched nearer the equator have a longer service life as they have a shorter journey to make it into geostationary orbit and save fuel accordingly.

"皇冠体育app has begun to develop a Mars probe, but such exploration will be a very complex project," Zhou added.