As NASA faces cuts, China reveals ambitious plans for planetary exploration
These grand Chinese plans come as NASA faces budget cuts.
China created a new entity called the "Deep Space Exploration Laboratory" three years ago to strengthen the country's approach to exploring the Solar System. Located in eastern China, not far from Shanghai, the new laboratory represented a partnership between China's national space agency and a local public college, the University of Science and Technology of China.
Not much is known outside of China about the laboratory, but it has recently revealed some very ambitious plans to explore the Solar System, including the outer planets. This week, as part of a presentation, Chinese officials shared some public dates about future missions.
Space journalist Andrew Jones, who tracks China's space program, shared some images with a few details. Among the planned missions are:
