Chang’e-7 lunar probe. File photograph: Xinhua through AP
China mentioned on Sunday (August 23, 2026) it was suspending its deliberate formidable Chang’e-7 lunar mission, which was set to hold out explorations together with trying to find water ice on the moon.
The Chang’e-7 spacecraft was initially set to raise off within the coming days from the Wenchang Area Launch Web site on China’s southern Hainan island.
The mission doesn’t meet the launch circumstances, mentioned the China Manned Area Company in a short assertion, and “can not happen throughout the deliberate window this yr.”
The choice was made following a “complete evaluation,” the company added, and was based mostly on the ideas of “prudence, reliability and absolute mission success.” It didn’t additional elaborate on the explanations behind the choice.
Preparations have been carried out on the Wenchang launch website for the Chang’e-7 mission over the previous weeks, the seventh within the Chang’e moon exploration program. It aimed toward making breakthroughs in key applied sciences, the official Xinhua information company beforehand reported.
It was set to discover completely shadowed craters on the moon and conduct environmental and useful resource surveys of the lunar south pole, the Xinhua report mentioned, citing the area company.
Chang’e refers to a Chinese language moon goddess. The Chang’e-6 probe returned to Earth in 2024 with rock and soil samples from the far facet of the moon in a world first.
Revealed – August 24, 2026 04:44 am IST
