Lei Fanpei, chairman of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation has revealed details of China's ambitious space program goals over the next 15 years, reports state news agency Xinhua.

Lei said that China hopes to put a rover on Mars by 2020, complete a manned space station by 2022, and test a heavy carrier rocket by 2030.

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The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation is the main contractor for the country's space program. Lei outlined the goals in Taiyuan, China while attending the launch of CBERS-4, a satellite jointly developed with Brazil by a Long March-4B rocket.

It was the 200th flight of the Long March variants since April 1970 when the country's first Long Marchr satellite, Dongfanghong-1, was sent into space. China has already completed a feasibility study on its first Mars mission, and the goal is to now send an orbiter and rover to the red planet.

China hasn't yet made an official announcement about a Mars probe yet, but Lei expects a Long March-5 carrier, which is still in the development stage, will carry the orbiter into a Martian orbit from a new launch site on south China's island province of Hainan. The launch center, China's fourth site after Taiyuan, Jiuquan and Xichang, is almost complete and can already launch some spacecraft.

Last month, attendees of Airshow China 2014 were shown an actual-size model of a possible Mars rover.  In 2011, China made an unsuccessful attempt to reach Mars aboard a Russian rocket, but failed to complete the mission because of an accident during orbital transfer.

Lei said that China's manned space station program is progressing steadily, and that various modules, vehicles and ground facilities are nearing readiness. He also said that the construction and development of major space products are at key stages, including the second space lab Tiangong-2, the Tianzhou-1 cargo ship, Long March-7 rockets and Shenzhou-11 spacecraft.

The Tiangong-2 space lab will be launched around 2016 along with the Shenzhou-11 spacecraft and Tianzhou-1 cargo ship. By 2018, a core experimental module for the station will be put in place.

China's first orbiting space station should be completed by 2022, and will consist of three parts -- a core module attached to two labs, each weighing about 20 tons.

TagsChina Unveils Ambitious Space Program Goals, Lei Fanpei, Mars Rover, Mars probe, lunar lander, heavy carrier rocket, Mars, Long March rocket, Dongfanghong-1, the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, Tiangong