China's Chang'e 7 mission to land on lunar south pole for water ice search: report

BEIJING -- China's Chang'e 7 lunar probe, scheduled for launch in 2026, will target the moon's south pole to search for water ice and test cutting-edge technologies critical for sustainable human activities on the moon, China Media Group reported Monday.

The mission using an innovative hopper spacecraft equipped with a water molecule analyzer aims to confirm the presence and distribution of water ice in permanently shadowed craters, said the report.

The Chang'e 3 and Chang'e 5 missions successfully landed on the moon's near side, while Chang'e 4 and Chang'e 6 achieved historic touchdowns on the far side. Therefore, Chang'e 7's planned landing at the lunar south pole will test the capability of China's lunar probe to reach any region of the moon, Tang Yuhua, deputy chief designer of the Chang'e 7 mission, said in the interview.

If lunar water ice is successfully located, it could significantly reduce the cost and time required to transport water from Earth, facilitating the establishment of a human base for long-term activities on the moon and enabling further exploration of Mars or deep space, Tang said.

According to Wu Weiren, the chief designer of China's lunar exploration program, the Chang'e 7 probe - comprising an orbiter, a lander, a rover, and a mobile hopper - will face extreme challenges, including temperatures below minus 100 degrees Celsius and complex terrain.

The hopper, a first-of-its-kind lunar explorer, will "jump" from sunlit areas to shadowed craters to conduct detailed analyses. The lander will deploy China's inaugural deep-space "landmark image navigation" system to ensure precision, while the hopper utilizes active shock-absorption technology to safely land on slopes, said the report.

The probe can autonomously analyze its landing terrain, with more than half of its operations performed independently without requiring ground intervention. The solar panels installed vertically on the probe are being optimized to capture low-angle sunlight near the lunar pole, Tang said, adding that the mission has entered its final assembly and testing phase.