China is about to launch Chang’e-7, its most technologically complex lunar mission to date, in its search for reserves of frozen water in permanently shadowed craters near the moon’s south pole. The unmanned mission, named after a mythical Chinese moon goddess, will include deploying a robotic lander, a rover and a “jump” probe to one of the coldest places in the solar system. It will represent an important step toward Beijing’s long-term goal of building a permanent human presence on the moon, with plans underway for a manned lunar landing before 2030 and the establishment of a joint research station with Russia by 2035. Where will Chang’e-7 go? Next week, the Chang’e-7 spacecraft is scheduled to lift off from the Wenchang Space Launch Site in the southern island province of Hainan, atop a Long March 5 rocket carrying payloads that also include a host of scientific instruments such as water analyzers, cameras and radars. Once in orbit around the moon, the spacecraft will first examine possible landing sites at the south pole before attempting a landing. One candidate location is near the rim of Shackleton Crater, a permanently shadowed depression. However, the crater’s jagged rim is almost continuously illuminated by sunlight. China has not publicly revealed a timeline for the Chang’e-7 mission, but space observers estimate a landing attempt around November. After landing, the rover and hopper will begin inspecting the surface. Pole? Craters near the Moon’s south pole have not seen sunlight in billions of years. As such, scientists believe they could act as freezers capable of preserving ancient water and volatile organic compounds. Temperatures can drop as low as -203 degrees Celsius (-334 Fahrenheit) in some of these shady terrains, according to NASA. Finding accessible water is crucial for future lunar bases, as it could provide drinking water, oxygen for astronauts and even serve as raw propellant for rockets, reducing the need for costly resupply missions from Earth. Unlike most areas of the Moon, where a lunar night lasts up to 14 Earth days, the high peaks and crater rims near the south pole receive almost constant sunlight and would serve as an ideal location for a lunar outpost with a relatively stable thermal climate and a continuous supply of solar energy. The United States, India and Russia have also set their targets on the Moon’s south pole. Only India landed nearby with its Chandrayaan-3 in 2023. In the coming years, NASA’s VIPER rover, the European Space Agency’s PROSPECT drilling package and the Japan-India LUPEX rover are expected to reach the Moon’s south pole, as the race to find water sources intensifies. A jumping robot? In the dark? One challenge for traditional wheeled rovers is the steepness of the edges of lunar craters. To descend to the black bottom of a crater, Chang’e-7 will deploy a novel jump probe. The hopper, equipped with a water molecule analyzer, will use its small thrusters to fly toward the shadowed craters. It will then land on six articulated legs, before jumping back onto the sunlit wheels to recharge. Technical details regarding hopper weight, engine performance or flight range remain unknown. China’s state news agency Xinhua has reported that the vehicle is expected to make at least three jumps during the mission. China is in a space race of sorts with NASA, aiming to return astronauts to the moon in 2028 and eventually establish a sustained human presence there. VCG via Getty ImagesWho is China’s lunar competitor? Data collected by Chang’e-7 and its successor Chang’e-8, scheduled for around 2029, will be crucial in China’s plan for a manned landing by 2030, as the two missions are intended to lay the foundation for a permanently inhabited research station. China’s ambition to land humans on the moon and build an outpost near the south pole coincides with NASA’s Artemis program, which aims to return humans to the moon by 2028 and eventually establish a sustained human presence there. In April, NASA’s Artemis II mission completed a 10-day manned lunar flyby. The four astronauts traveled farther in space than any human in history, reaching a record distance of 252,756 miles from Earth before returning home safely.
