Representatives of China and the European Space Agency are discussing potential collaboration¹ on a human outpost on the moon and other possible joint² endeavors, according to a spokesman for the European agency and Chinese media reports.

 

据欧洲航天局一位发言人和中国媒体的消息，来自中方和欧洲航天局的代表正在探讨合作建立月球基地的计划，以及其他可能的合作项目。

 

The secretary general for China's space agency, Tian Yulong, first disclosed the talks about the envisioned lunar base in Chinese state media. They were confirmed Wednesday by Pal³ Hvistendahl, a spokesman for the European Space Agency, or ESA.

 

"The Chinese have a very ambitious moon program already in place," Hvistendahl said. "Space has changed since the space race of the '60s. We recognize that to explore space for peaceful purposes, we do international cooperation."

 

The director general of the 22-member ESA, Johann-Dietrich Woerner, has described its proposed "Moon Village" as a potential international launching pad for future missions to Mars and a chance to develop space tourism or even lunar mining.

 

China arrived relatively⁴ late to space travel but has ramped⁵ up its program since its first manned spaceflight in 2003, more than 42 years after a Soviet⁶ cosmonaut became the first to reach orbit.

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