On Thursday, China launched its youngest-ever crew for its orbiting space station in an effort to send astronauts to the moon by 2030.
Long March 2-F rocket took off from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on the edge of the Gobi Desert in northwestern China at 11:14 a.m.
As reported by broadcaster CCTV earlier, the average age of the three-member crew is the youngest since the launch of the space station construction mission. Their average age is 38, state Media China Daily said.
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Beijing plans to place astronauts on the moon by the end of the decade as part of its competition with the US to reach new milestones in outer space. As a result, both of the world’s biggest economies are competing for influence in fields like technology, military, and diplomacy.
Using its resources, China launched its first manned space mission in 2003, becoming the third country after the Soviet Union and the United States to accomplish this feat. Previously NASA announced to build houses on the moon by 2040. To achieve this goal NASA plans to use a dimensional printer that will create structures using lunar concrete.
Currently, American spending, supply chains, and capabilities give it a significant advantage over China. China has broken out in some areas, However, bringing samples back from the lunar surface for the first time in decades and landing a rover on the less explored far side of the moon.
China plans to land a spacecraft on an asteroid after the US lands a spacecraft on the moon, along with both countries landing rovers on Mars.