China targets lunar ice with ambitious Chang'e-7 moon mission

China is targeting frozen water at the moon’s south pole with Chang’e-7, described as its most technologically complex lunar mission so far.

The uncrewed spacecraft was scheduled to launch the following week aboard a Long March 5 rocket. It will carry a lander, a rover and a hopping probe designed to enter craters that remain permanently in shadow.

The probe will search for water molecules in places where temperatures can fall to about minus 203C. Any lunar water could eventually provide drinking water and oxygen, and might also supply material for rocket fuel.

China has set a goal of landing astronauts on the moon before 2030. It also aims to establish a research station with Russia by 2035.