China sets 2030 deadline to send astronauts to the moon

May 29 (UPI) -- A Chinese space agency official announced plans Monday to send the country's first manned mission to the moon by 2030.

The announcement came along with other firsts on deck for the China Manned Space Agency.

Deputy Director Lin Xiqiang said Tuesday's launch of the Shenzhou-16 mission will be the first to include a civilian and announced that China will welcome more foreign astronauts to its space station.

Lin unveiled the plans at Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, located in Inner Mongolia.

"The overall goals are to realize China's first manned landing on the moon before 2030, carry out scientific exploration and related technology demonstrations on the lunar surface, develop a commuting system and short-term stay system for crews, and develop human-robot integrated testing and other key technologies," he said.

The plans call for astronauts to collect samples and perform scientific experiments related to "technology demonstrations" while on the moon's surface. The long-term goal of the mission will be to perfect operations such as manned Earth-to-moon travel and short-term stays on the moon.

China has previously sent unmanned missions to the moon, including several rover missions.

The Shenzhou-16 mission is set to launch from Jiuquan and travel to the Tiangong space station. The three-person mission is scheduled to spend about five months aboard the station. Jing Haipeng, one of the mission's astronauts, will be China's first astronaut to travel to space four times.