CHINA’S Chang’e-7 lunar probe is scheduled for launch in the second half of 2026, according to an announcement from the China Manned Space Agency on Friday. The probe has already been transported to the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in Hainan Province, where pre-launch tests will be carried out as planned.

The agency confirmed that all facilities at the launch site are in good condition and preparatory work is progressing smoothly. The Chang’e-7 mission aims to achieve breakthroughs in several key technologies on the lunar surface, including high-precision soft landing, legged movements, surface hopping, and exploration of permanently shadowed craters.

The mission will adopt a comprehensive detection approach combining orbiting, landing, roving, and hopping maneuvers to conduct environmental and resource surveys of the lunar south pole. International cooperation will also be integrated into the mission.

The China Manned Space Agency released the information. “This is to fully leverage the technological capabilities and mission experience accumulated over decades through the nation’s manned spaceflights and the Chang’e robotic programs,” the agency said.

According to previously published mission plans, the Chang’e-7 probe will consist of an orbiter, a lander, a rover, and a small flying probe designed to hop into pits on the lunar surface in search of water ice. The spacecraft will carry six scientific payloads developed by international partners, including laser retroreflector arrays from Italy’s National Institute for Nuclear Physics, a lunar dust and electric field instrument from the Russian Academy of Sciences, and an international lunar-based telescope from the International Lunar Observatory Association.

China has carried out six robotic lunar missions to date, deploying two rovers on the lunar surface during the Chang’e-3 and Chang’e-4 missions, and retrieving samples from both the near and far sides of the moon through the Chang’e-5 and Chang’e-6 missions — making China the first and only country to achieve that feat.

(SD-Agencies)