Hong Kong (CNS)--Academician Dr. Ye Peijian, expert of Chinese moon exploration projects and the general commander and designer of the Chang'e I satellite, predicted a Chinese manned moon landing by 2030, on July 13.
During a speech at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (HKPU), he discussed the UN Moon Treaty’s principal of "who arrives first has the right to exploit." "We have to take prompt actions ahead of others, with all conditions matured," said Dr. Ye.
"As a huge nation of outstanding wisdom, we Chinese can't postpone the moon landing schedule until after 2030." India has already announced their plan to reach the same goal by 2020, and even later advanced the date to 2018. In Dr. Ye's view, India is not capable of this by itself. However, with support from other countries, this is not a daydream. "India's ambition lies in reaching the goal ahead of us. They intend to take over our influence in Asia."
As Dr. Ye assessed, 50 years of airspace research and practice has given China matured techniques, facilities, and human resources. Besides, the growing national economy continues to help this cause. Dr. Ye also gave special thanks to the regions of Hong Kong and Macao in their constant support and anticipated HKPU's continuous contributions.
China's space station will be built in 2020, with various technical breakthroughs expected. The long time survival, daily necessities, and landing problems of the astronauts are to be dealt with, which are basically all the criteria for a manned moon landing program, said Dr. Ye.
With regards to the Mars plan, Dr. Ye awaits an opportunity for China. Mars and the Earth "meet" every 26 months. This year sees the two planets closest in distance. Calculating this, Dr. Ye would like to see a Mars exploration project carried out in 2013. Considering the current progress being made, it is likely to be rearranged by 2015 at the latest.
