(CRI)
Updated: 2008-01-14 16:03

China recently announced its ambitious space plan for launching into space 15 rockets, 17 satellites and a manned spaceship in 2008.

China's first lunar orbiter, Chang'e I, blasts off from its launch pad in the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Southwest China's Sichuan Province, at about 6:05 pm October 24, 2007. [Xinhua]

This is the first time for China to elaborate on its space plan in detail. According to the plan, 2008 will be China's busiest year for space exploration.

The plan has aroused the interest of the foreign media looking into China's space exploration program and its space technology development.

Some foreign media believe that China has become as great a power in space exploration as other western countries, since China's first successful manned spaceship launch in 2003, which made China the third country to send a man into space after the former Soviet Union and the United States.

In 2007 especially, China has lifted the curtain to reveal its deep space exploration program by sending its first lunar probe Chang'e I into a moon orbit last October, and publishing lunar surface images in November.

Foreign media also point out China has systematically and effectively scheduled its space exploration activities. But China still has a long way to go to catch up with the United States and Europe in developing space vehicles and satellite equipment.

Earlier reports say that a Chinese astronaut will leave the capsule and make a space walk during the third manned mission in 2008.

China's bold space program is aimed at launching soft landers and rovers on the moon in 2012, and bringing back lunar soil samples in 2017. In the meantime, China is working with another space power Russia on a Mars probe.