UK's deepening relationship with China and its role as 'trusted partner' of US puts country in good position for mission, minister says

Britain's deepening relationship with China and its role as the "trusted partner" of the US puts the UK in a strong position to co-ordinate a manned mission to Mars by the world's great powers within 30 years, the science minister, David Willetts, has said.

As an initial step Britain will put its "very nimble and effective space industry" at the disposal of China as Beijing launches a series of lunar missions which could see the first woman land on the moon within years.

"In the old days it was Cape Canaveral; in the future it will be Stevenage at the heart of the global space effort," Willetts said, in reference to Astrium, which builds robotic space equipment at its plant in the Hertfordshire town.

Willetts was speaking as he returned with David Cameron from China, where he signed a memorandum of understanding with Beijing on space co-operation.

On their return George Osborne announced in his autumn statement that Britain is setting aside £80m for an international space co-operation fund for emerging powers. China and India, which both have highly developed space programmes, will be free to apply.

The science minister hopes this will mark the first moves towards a joint mission to Mars. "Our hunger for discovery isn't over. The future is for there to be a base on the moon and then potentially to use that as a way of getting to Mars, but you are looking 25 years ahead," he said.

Willetts added that a manned mission to Mars would need co-operation among the world's major powers, with Britain playing a leading role as a co-ordinator.

He said: "The Chinese are certainly trying to catch up with the Americans. But one of the advantages of the challenge of getting to Mars – unmanned and eventually manned – is it is such a big project it probably requires global co-operation.

"We are in a very good position. We have got a very nimble and effective space industry, we are trusted partners of America, we are active players in the European Space Agency and we are now opening up a new relationship with China because we signed a new memorandum of understanding for co-operation in space."

Asked when the joint manned mission to Mars would be launched, Willetts said: "I think it is possible in 30 years."

Willetts held talks with Chinese officials during Cameron's trip to China about placing British space equipment on China's forthcoming lunar missions. China is planning to make the first controlled landing on the moon since the Apollo programme.

Astrium in Stevenage and Surrey Satellites in Guildford are well placed to take part in the lunar missions and future missions to Mars. Astrium helped to develop to the Mars rover vehicle for the European Space Agency. "We are very good at the robotic systems, the autonomous systems, they are going to use on the Chinese lunar missions," he said.

Willetts said the Chinese see the lunar missions as a prelude to their Mars programme. "They [the Chinese] have got a very careful plan. They are going to go first to the Moon. They are landing an explorer vehicle this time. What they will subsequently do, we think, is land and retrieve robotically. They want to bring stuff back from the moon but without putting a man on the moon. Probably what they will eventually do – being smart I suspect – is [put] a woman on the moon. And then they will want to go on to Mars. So they have got a patient long term plan. We are up for cooperation with them.

"There is no agreed plan for getting to Mars. But it will be as has happened on the Moon. You will first of all build up your experience by getting more and more unmanned space craft to Mars with robotic systems. You will then try to bring stuff back from Mars without a human going there. But in the future at some point, perhaps in our lifetimes, there will be humans going to Mars."