Photo: China's 1st Space Walk Mission a Step Toward the Moon?

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China is preparing for a Friday launch of its most challenging space mission yet, which is set to include the country's first space walk.

The launch of the Shenzhou VII space rocket (seen on September 20, 2008) furthers an ambitious space program that plans to build a base on the moon—in cooperation with NASA or not.

Photograph by Xu Haihan/AP

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