BEIJING (AP) -- Before China sends astronauts to the Moon, Chinese robots will explore the lunar surface, mapping out landing sites and places for human exploration, state media, quoting government scientists, reported Tuesday.
The report, by the Xinhua News Agency, provides the latest glimpse into China's secretive space program as it progresses toward a breakthrough -- a piloted launch of a spacecraft. Having completed one successful pilotless test launch 11 months ago, the government has been closed-mouthed about when a piloted flight will occur.
Robots will be a pioneering part of the space program, Xinhua reported, citing two officials with China's first space robot research center.
China is closing the gap in robot research with the United States and Russia -- the only two countries with domestic piloted space programs -- as well as with Japan, Xinhua said, quoting Sun Zengqi of the computer science and technology department at Beijing's prestigious Tsinghua University.
"Breakthroughs have been made in many key technologies of space robots," Xinhua quoted Liang Bin, deputy director of the robot research center, as saying.
Among the uses China foresees for the robots are repairing malfunctions and conducting experiments in small, automated space stations and exploring the Moon.
Sun told an engineering conference last week that "small and dexterous" robots will scour the Moon as an advance team for astronauts, Xinhua said.
The head of the space program announced two weeks ago that China aimed to explore the Moon and one day take part in international missions to Mars. Luan Enjie, like all space program officials quoted by state media, revealed few details and did not disclose a timetable.
The space program is known by the code name Project 921.
China is preparing a group of astronauts -- or what one Chinese engineer has dubbed "taikonauts" from the Chinese word for space. One group recently went to Russia for training, and Russians previously trained at least two others.
Astronauts, however, "are very expensive resources in space," Xinhua said. It quoted Sun as saying that robots can fulfill many tasks in space and endure the Moon's harsh environment.
On the Moon, robots will climb slopes and maneuver around obstructions to set up scientific facilities, collect research samples and then transmit images and results back to Earth.
Sun is currently using virtual-reality computer programs to solve problems associated with the time delay in sending commands and receiving information from robots in space, Xinhua said.
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