New Long March rocket to be bigger, more powerful

Chinese rocket scientists are developing a new, super-heavy carrier rocket known as the Long March 9.

Designers at the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology are currently working on the baseline model of the Long March 9. The three-stage rocket will stand about 110 meters tall, and have a liftoff weight of about 4,000 metric tons and a thrust of nearly 6,000 tons, and its core stage will be about 10 meters in diameter.

The new rocket will be powerful enough to carry craft weighing up to 50 tons to an Earth-moon transfer trajectory for lunar missions such as the construction of a large-scale science or mining outpost. It will also be able to send spacecraft on deep-space missions, including the ambitious venture to place Chinese astronauts on Mars.