Beijing first put a man in space in 2003—more than four decades after the Soviet Union and the U.S.—and its most-feted success to date was landing Know-how gained from those missions should spur further technological breakthroughs and help China “achieve the goal of manned lunar exploration within 15 to 20 years,” Lt. Gen. Zhang Yulin, deputy chief of the China Manned Space Program, told a conference late last week, according to The report marks a fresh statement of intent from Beijing, which just last week China has lavished money on its space effort in recent decades, seeking technological prowess and prestige that Beijing sees as befitting of its status as a global power. Wan Hu (万户 or 万虎) is a legendary Chinese official — supposedly of 2000 BC, or else the middle Ming dynasty (16th century) — who was described in 20th century sources as the world's first "astronaut" by being lifted by rockets into outer space. It was the first probe to land on the side of the moon that permanently faces away from Earth as … While Beijing focuses mainly on moon shots and missions in Earth orbit, such as The U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration, for instance, has charted a vision of eventual human exploration of Mars—an effort estimated to take at least two decades, likely well over $100 billion and extensive international cooperation to send astronauts to circle and then land on the planet. Through its Apollo-series missions, NASA completed six manned lunar landings from 1969 to 1972.Subsequent lunar missions have all been unmanned. The European Space Agency is planning to create a permanent human outpost on the moon, though it estimates that the process could take 20 years.Only 12 men, all American, have ever walked on the moon. There was a huge explosion. The Yutu rover (its name means "Jade Rabbit") is named after the pet rabbit that travels with the goddess Chang’e to the moon in Chinese legends.