BEIJING (AP) — China is talking with the European Space Agency about collaborating on a human outpost on the moon.

The secretary general for China's space agency, Tian Yulong, disclosed the talks Wednesday in Chinese state media. Further details on what the collaboration could entail were not revealed.

The European Space Agency, or ESA, has described its "Moon Village" as a potential international launching pad for future missions to Mars.

China has ramped up its space program since its first manned spaceflight in 2003, more than 42 years after a Soviet cosmonaut became the first to reach orbit.

China this month launched an unmanned spacecraft on a mission to dock with its currently unoccupied space station. It plans to launch the first mission to the far side of the moon next year.