China postpones Chang’e-7 lunar mission pending launch conditions
The China Manned Space Agency has delayed the Chang’e-7 mission, citing a comprehensive assessment that the spacecraft did not meet the necessary launch conditions for the current window.
China has postponed its Chang’e-7 lunar mission, which was scheduled to launch within days from the Wenchang Space Launch Site on Hainan island. The China Manned Space Agency announced the delay on Saturday, stating that the mission did not meet launch conditions and could not proceed within the planned window this year.
The agency confirmed the mission “cannot take place during the planned window this year,” a decision made following a “comprehensive assessment.” The statement cited the principles of “prudence, reliability and absolute mission success” as the basis for the postponement, though it did not provide further technical or logistical details on why the conditions were not met.
Preparations for the launch had been underway at the Wenchang Space Launch Site for several weeks. As the seventh mission in China’s Chang’e moon exploration programme, the spacecraft was intended to search for water ice and explore permanently shadowed craters near the Moon’s south pole.
According to previous reports by the official Xinhua news agency, the mission aims to make breakthroughs in key technologies and conduct environmental and resource surveys of the lunar south pole. The delay leaves the exact new launch date or window for the mission unannounced.
The postponement follows the success of the Chang’e-6 probe, which returned to Earth in 2024 with rock and soil samples from the far side of the Moon, a world first. The programme is named after the Chinese moon goddess, Chang’e.
