Officials with the Chinese Manned Space Agency said in a news conference on Monday that the program plans to place astronauts on the moon before 2030 and expand its space station.

A Chinese space agency official announced plans Monday to send the country's first manned mission to the Moon by 2030.

China's burgeoning space program plans to place astronauts on the moon before 2030 and expand the country's orbiting space station, officials said Monday.

China launched a new three-person crew for its orbiting space station on Tuesday, with an eye to putting astronauts on the moon before the end of the decade. The Shenzhou 16 spacecraft lifted off from the Jiuquan launch center on the edge of the Gobi Desert in northwestern China atop a Long March 2-F rocket just after 9:30 a.

Beijing also plans to expand its space station, part of an ambitious effort to boost its presence in space - and opening up a new sphere of rivalry with the U.S.