China hunts for lunar ice in one of solar system’s coldest places

BEIJING – China is poised to launch Chang’e-7, its most technologically complex lunar mission to date, in its search for frozen stores of water in permanently shadowed craters near the moon’s south pole.

The uncrewed mission, named after a mythical Chinese goddess of the moon, will feature the deployment of a robotic lander, rover, and “hopping” probe to one of the coldest places in the solar system. It will represent a major step toward Beijing’s long-term goal of building a permanent human presence on the moon, with plans under way for a crewed lunar landing before 2030 and the setting up of a joint research station with Russia by 2035.

Next week, the Chang’e-7 spacecraft will lift off from the Wenchang Space Launch Site in the southern island province of Hainan atop a Long March 5 rocket with payloads that also include an array of scientific instruments such as water analyzers, cameras and radars.