Posted on Saturday, November 10 2007 @ 17:05 CET by Thomas De Maesschalck
Reuters
reports China is going to open some parts of its moon mission projects to private funding:
As part of an ambitious space program, China's first lunar probe reached its working orbit on Wednesday and the country plans to put a man on the moon within 15 years.
Li Guoping, a spokesman for the China National Space Administration, told the Shanghai Daily funding could come from "scientific research organs, universities and also private companies."
"With the expansion of China's space exploration, we'd like to encourage private enterprise to join space technology development and attract public funds for aerospace-related research, manufacture and trade," Li said.
The launch of the probe represents the first stage in China's three-step moon mission. The second stage envisages a moon landing. The final stage would involve a landing and collection of soil and rock samples.
