China wants to build a moon base in about 10 years.

China’s highest ranked space official said the country will launch its first human lunar mission and build a lunar base in about a decade.

Zhang Kejian, the head of China’s National Space Administration, said on Wednesday the country is planning to set up a research station on the moon’s south pole in “about 10 years,” according to state-run news agency Xinhua. It was the earliest and most specific time frame the Chinese authorities have offered on the next crucial stages of their lunar program.

China will also launch its first crewed mission to the moon by then, he said.
The schedule for China’s lunar program, announced on China’s fourth national Space Day, underscores Beijing’s ambition to become a space power that rivals the United States and Russia.