Chinese engineers are now busy preparing Shenzhou VII, China’s third manned space expedition, planned for next year.

Officials say the mission’s astronauts will perform their first spacewalk.

Of more immediate significance is China’s plan to fast-track its lunar-exploration program by launching a moon orbiter this year.

This is to be followed by a second-phase project involving unmanned lunar landers.

Further missions set for 2012-17 will involve collecting and returning lunar samples to Earth.

(SD-Agencies)