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Chang’e-7 Set for First South Pole Landing, Ice Mapping

8/20/2026

31 2 Full Breakdown

Summary

Story summary

China’s CNSA will launch Chang’e-7 to land near Shackleton Crater at the south pole.
Launch uses a Long March 5 Y14 rocket from Wenchang on Aug 23 p.m. Eastern.
The craft—orbiter, lander, rover, hopper—will be the first to land at the south pole.
The hopper will hop into craters, drill up to one meter, and analyse ice.
Eighteen payloads, including a U.S.-built telescope, will map water-ice to support a station and landing before 2030.

History

Historical Context

In 1969 NASA fulfilled President Kennedy’s goal by landing Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the Moon with Apollo 11, a mission that cost $25.4 billion and remains the only human lunar landing. China’s CNSA plans a Chang’e mission in the mid-2020s to map south-pole water-ice, a step toward a lunar base and renewed competition.

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Story summary

China’s CNSA will launch Chang’e-7 to land near Shackleton Crater at the south pole.
Launch uses a Long March 5 Y14 rocket from Wenchang on Aug 23 p.m. Eastern.
The craft—orbiter, lander, rover, hopper—will be the first to land at the south pole.
The hopper will hop into craters, drill up to one meter, and analyse ice.
Eighteen payloads, including a U.S.-built telescope, will map water-ice to support a station and landing before 2030.

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