Tesla and SpaceX chief executive officer Elon Musk spoke highly of China's space program under a tweet on Monday, saying that it is "far more advanced than most people realize."
The Twitter boss made these remarks following a tweet from Chris Hadfield, a retired Canadian astronaut, who retweeted a CGTN report, citing Wu Weiren, the chief designer of China's lunar exploration program.
Wu said that "By 2030, the Chinese people will definitely be able to set foot on the moon. That's not a problem."
Read more: China to perform crewed lunar landing before 2030: Chief designer
A screenshot from Twitter.
The China National Space Administration announced a plan to begin the fourth phase of its lunar probe program in 2022, including the launch of three missions dubbed the Chang'e-6, Chang'e-7 and Chang'e-8, and the construction of an international lunar research station on the moon, according to the report.
The chief designer also said that the country welcomes countries and international institutions to cooperate on the construction of the lunar research station.
"The international lunar research station built by China is open," said Wu.
Lin Xiqiang, deputy director of the China Manned Space Agency, reaffirmed the plan on Monday at a conference, upon stating the launch of the Shenzhou-16 manned spacecraft, adding that that China has initiated the lunar landing phase of its manned lunar exploration program recently.
Read more: China unveils most detailed plan yet for deep space exploration
(Cover: An animation shows the basic structure of the lunar research station. /CMG)