BEIJING — Beijing plans to build a research station on the moon in the next 10 years, according to Chinese state media outlet China Daily<br /><br />The facility is planned to be placed near the moon's south pole region where it will be used to conduct scientific research.<br /><br />Zhang Kejian, the head of the China National Space Administration, made the announcement on China's fourth annual Space Day, on April 24th. <br /><br />China's other space exploration plans include a mission to launch a Mars probe by 2020 and the lunar probe Chang'e-5 by the end of this year.<br /><br />China also announced that its space station, the Tiangong, is set to go into orbit in the year 2022.<br /><br />According to AFP, China now spends more on its space program than Russia and Japan, and is second only to the US.
