China reveals its space plans up to 2016

BEIJING— China has released its next five-year space plan to help it on its way to its eventual goals of building a space station and putting a man on the moon.

The white paper released Thursday says that by the end of 2016, China will launch space laboratories, manned spaceships and ship freighters, and make technological preparations for the construction of space stations.

It says the country will carry on exploring the moon using probes, start gathering samples of the moon’s surface, and “push forward its exploration of planets, asteroids and the sun.”

China places great emphasis on the development of its space industry, which is seen as a symbol of national prestige.