China is planning to put a man on the moon perhaps by 2014

Tentative plans to land a man on the moon have been outlined in a document published by the Chinese government that confirms the nation's intention to become a major spacefaring nation. Officials in China have spoken before of their hopes for a crewed lunar mission, but the government document is the first to state the aim as a formal goal for the nation's space agency.

China is planning to put a man on the moon, according to a new report setting out the country's space ambitions. Citing new technological breakthroughs, it says it "will push forward human space flight projects" as part of its "major tasks for the next five years. China will launch space laboratories, manned spacecraft and space freighters, and master key space station technologies," the five-year-plan states. The lunar landing is a long-term aim, the paper says - perhaps by 2020.


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