Missions · Space Codex
Chang'e-7
A four-part robotic mission to look for water ice at the lunar south pole.
China's lunar south-pole mission
At a glance
Key points
It was postponed out of its August 2026 launch window.
- Postponed out of its August 2026 window
- Includes a hopper to enter a shadowed crater
The plan
A hopper would leap into a permanently shadowed crater, where temperatures stay low enough for ice to survive billions of years, and measure what is there directly.
Four spacecraft, one question
The orbiter would map the south-polar region from above with cameras, radar and a neutron and gamma-ray spectrometer. The lander would set down on sunlit ground with seismic and environmental instruments, release the rover, and send the hopper on short leg-powered jumps into darkness. There the hopper would drill and pass material to a water-molecule analyser, measuring ice and other volatiles where they actually lie, not inferring them from orbit.
Why the south pole
The Moon's spin axis is barely tilted, so some crater floors near the poles have not seen sunlight for billions of years. They are cold traps where water delivered by comets, asteroids or the solar wind can stay frozen. Ice there could one day supply drinking water, oxygen and rocket propellant, which is why both China and NASA's Artemis programme are aiming for the same region. Shackleton's rim, the preferred site, offers long spells of sunlight for power right beside a permanently dark floor.
Where it fits
Chang'e-7 opens the fourth phase of China's lunar programme. Chang'e-8, planned for around 2029, is meant to test technologies for using local materials. Together they lead toward the International Lunar Research Station, a base China is developing with Russia and other partners, with construction hoped to begin in the early 2030s.
What we still don't know
When it will launch. China's space agency said only that it would not fly in its 2026 window.
Missions
- Postponed
Chang'e-7
CNSAPlannedSouth-pole water-ice mission (orbiter, lander, rover, hopper); postponed out of its Aug 2026 window with no new date announced.
Related entries
- The MoonEarth's only natural satellite
- Artemis programmeNASA's return to the Moon
Sources
- CTV News: China postpones Chang'e-7 (opens in a new tab)
- Scientific American: China delays Chang'e-7 (opens in a new tab)
- Planetary Society: Chang'e-7 (opens in a new tab)
Last reviewed against these sources. Built from public NASA, ESA and JPL data; not affiliated with or endorsed by any agency.