Chang'e 7
Chang'e 7 — China's lunar south-pole mission, planned for launch in late 2026. An orbiter, lander, rover and a hopping mini-probe will search near Shackleton crater for water ice: the hopper is designed to fly into a permanently shadowed crater, drill, and analyse the soil for water molecules on the spot. It scouts the region for China's planned International Lunar Research Station.
Key facts
Mission & specifications
Mission
- Operator
- CNSA
- Launched
- August 25, 2026
- Status
- Planned
Trajectory
- Distance from the Sun
- 1.01 AU
- Distance from Earth
- 0.106 AU
- Distance from Venus
- 0.572 AU
Mission
Chang'e 7 is China's push to the Moon's south pole — the cold, shadowed frontier where water ice may have hidden for billions of years. Planned for launch in the second half of 2026 on a Long March 5, it is really four craft in one: an orbiter to survey from above, a lander to touch down on the sunlit rim near Shackleton crater, a rover to explore, and — the mission's signature trick — a hopping mini-probe designed to fly down into a permanently shadowed crater floor that never sees the Sun, drill a sample, and analyse it on the spot for water molecules. Confirming and mapping that ice matters far beyond science: water can be split into drinking water, breathable oxygen and rocket fuel. Chang'e 7 carries payloads from several countries and scouts the ground for the China-led International Lunar Research Station planned for the 2030s, working with the Queqiao-2 satellite that relays its signals home.
- 2026Planned launch on a Long March 5Launch
Chang'e 7 is scheduled to launch from Wenchang toward the lunar south pole.
- 2026Planned south-pole landingArrival
Expected to land on the illuminated rim near Shackleton crater and deploy a rover and a hopping water-ice probe.
- 2026Planned hop into a shadowed craterMilestone
The hopping probe is designed to fly into a permanently shadowed crater, drill, and analyse the soil for water molecules.
Images
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