China unveils road map to become world leader in space science by 2050

China has unveiled an ambitious road map to surpass the United States and become the world leader in space science by 2050.

The national development programme for space science was released on Tuesday by the China National Space Administration, China Manned Space Agency and Chinese Academy of Sciences.

It is the first such plan unveiled in China and sets out 17 priority areas for development.

They include searching for habitable planets and extraterrestrial life, exploring the origin and evolution of the universe, uncovering the nature of gravity, and exploring quantum mechanics and general relativity.

Scientific mission plans are to be rolled out in three stages – from now until 2027, from 2028 to 2035, and from 2036 to 2050.

Five to eight future missions are to be added to the current projects in the years to 2027, in accordance with China’s long-term space science goals.