China Mission Aims for the Moon's Hidden Water with ‘Hopping’ Probe
The four-part spacecraft will search for water ice and test landing and mobility technologies in permanently shadowed lunar terrain.
- On Wednesday, the China Manned Space Agency transferred the Chang'e 7 spacecraft and Long March-5 Y14 rocket to the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in southern Hainan province, with launch expected as early as next week.
- Representing China's most complex robotic lunar mission to date, Chang'e 7 addresses major unknowns about water ice distribution and depth in permanently shadowed polar craters where deposits remain frozen for billions of years.
- The four-part spacecraft includes a thruster-powered hopping probe that will drill as deep as 1 meter into frozen soil, heat samples, and analyze released gases to provide what planetary geologist Yuqi Qian calls "very precious ground truth."
- Lunar base planners are eyeing the strategic use of these potential resources, as ice deposits could provide drinking water, breathable oxygen, and hydrogen fuel, while craters may contain helium-3 for proposed fusion applications.
- NASA, the European Space Agency, and Japan-India LUPEX rover all aim to investigate lunar ice over coming years, drilling up to 1.5 meters beneath the surface; project scientist David Heather said the science from these missions is "certainly complementary.
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WENCHANG (CHINA) (XINHUA/ITALPRESS) - According to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA), the launch of the Chang'e-7 lunar probe is expected in due time. The complex formed by the Chang'e-7 lunar probe and the Long March-5 Y14 vector rocket was transferred vertically yesterday to the launch area of the Wenchang Space Vehicle Launch Site, in the southern Chinese province of Hainan, as announced by the CMSA. The lunar probe and rocket had arrived …
China's Chang'e-7 lunar ice-hunting mission set for Sunday launch
HELSINKI — China will launch a complex, multi-spacecraft mission late Sunday to study and land near the lunar south pole, including a search for evidence of water-ice. A Long March […] The post China’s Chang’e-7 lunar ice-hunting mission set for Sunday launch appeared first on SpaceNews.
China is sending a major mission to search for water ice at the Moon's south pole. The Chang'e-7 mission will carry a rover, a lander, and a special hopping probe that will reach the Moon's dark craters where sunlight cannot reach.
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