China is set to launch its most technologically complex lunar mission to date, with the uncrewed Chang'e-7 spacecraft aiming to detect frozen water deposits in permanently shadowed craters near the moon's south pole. The launch window opens August 24 from the Wenchang facility on Hainan island, atop a Long March 5 rocket.
The mission comprises an orbiter, a lander, a rover and a hopping probe designed to touch down near the 21-kilometre-wide Shackleton Crater. The hopper will use small thrusters to fly into darkened craters where temperatures plunge to minus 203 degrees Celsius, carrying a water molecule analyser. A laser instrument built in Italy will also ride aboard the lander.
Only India has previously landed at the south pole, with its Chandrayaan-3 mission in 2023. Beijing aims to establish a permanent lunar base by 2030.