China's leading rocket manufacturers have produced a blueprint for the country's future crewed exploration to Mars which will include landing missions but also bases on the planet.
China is looking at the year 2033 for its first manned mission to Mars, as it continues to fast-track its space program in a competition with the United States.
Before the manned missions China will send robots to search for the best locations, chief of the state-owned China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology says, according to Global Times.
Ultimately, China envisions building a permanent presence with infrastructure for resource extraction and a fleet of vessels running between it and Earth, Wang said.
To reduce travel time, the spacecraft would need to tap energy generated from nuclear reactors in addition to conventional chemical propulsion, Wang said.
According to Wang, the timeframe for the Mars mission will be 2033, 2035, 2037, 2041 and 2043.
China became the only non-U.S. nation to successfully deploy a rover to Mars last month.
The U.S. landed its Curiosity rover on Mars Aug. 6. It was the U.S. fifth rover to land on the planet.
Earlier this month, China sent the first astronauts to its new space station, the Tiangong.
It was the first time the country sent a manned mission to space since 2016.
NASA, the U.S. space agency, says it plans to send humans to Mars in the 2030s.
