BEIJING -- China's state-owned aerospace company has started developing an ultralarge rocket that it hopes to complete around 2030.

The rocket would be able to carry payloads of about 100 tons -- five to 10 times more than current rockets -- into low Earth orbit, according to Lei Fanpei, chairman of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp.(CASC).

CASC has been developing and manufacturing Long March rockets.

By comparison, the H-IIA, made by Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, can bring about 12-ton payloads up there.

When it was in production, NASA's Saturn V, built as part of the Apollo moon-landing program of the late 1960s and early 1970s, was able to carry 118 tons into low Earth orbit. The last time a Saturn V was used was 1973, when one carried the Skylab space station on its back.

Lei said China's coming rocket should remain in service through 2050; he intimated that it might be used to carry astronauts to the moon.

He also said the Chang Zheng 5 and Chang Zheng 7, or the Long March 5 and Long March 7, now in the development stage, are expected to make their maiden voyages within two years.

China is working on developing a variety of high-performance rockets. The Long March 5 -- which will have a body diameter of 5 meters, 50% larger than current Long March models -- will have more carrying capacity than before. The Long March 7 will use a less-environment-taxing fuel.

CASC is hoping to more efficiently transport materials to a Chinese space station that is scheduled to be launched around 2022, using various types of task-appropriate rockets.

The company has also revealed the success rate of 200 Long March series launches through early December. The rate was 98% for the second 100 liftoffs, better than the 93% rate for the first 100, from 1970 to 2007. The international benchmark for reliable rocket launches is 95%. Of the 200 launches, 39 were for overseas clients. CASC began its rocket launch business for overseas clients in 1990.

Also, annual production of Long March rockets has increased to 22 units, up from eight in 1998. This makes China a major player in the rocket launch business.

There were 200 Long March rockets launched between 1970 and December. © Xinhua/Kyodo

Lei also said his company is planning to put a rover on Mars around 2020. CASC wants to soft-land an explorer on the planet to conduct scientific research.

Of course, China won't be the first to the red planet.

In September, India successfully put a probe in orbit around Mars, which was greeted by a tweet from the Curiosity, NASA's Mars rover, which landed in August 2012.

And last month, NASA took a big step toward sending astronauts to Mars with a successful test launch of the Orion, an exploration spacecraft that will carry crews into space, provide emergency abort capability, sustain the crew during high-velocity travel and provide safe re-entry from deep space. The hope is to one day land astronauts on Mars with the Orion.

China's first attempt to put a rover on Mars came in 2011, but the Russian rocket commissioned to carry it failed at liftoff. China is now eager to succeed with its own rocket.

In China, high-tech enterprises that are directly controlled by the government and research centers that are government-affiliated develop and manufacture space equipment, while the People's Liberation Army is responsible for supervising rocket launches. Lei's latest comments suggest that Chinese industry, the government and academia are collaborating in the country's mid- to long-term space development plans.