China’s Chang’e-7 Mission to Target Moon’s South Pole

China’s upcoming Chang’e-7 lunar mission, set for launch later this year, will conduct detailed environmental and resource surveys at the Moon’s south pole, the China Manned Space Agency announced on Saturday.

The robotic mission will employ a sophisticated combination of orbiting, landing, roving, and hopping technologies to explore the lunar south pole region, according to agency spokesperson Zhang Jingbo.

The primary objectives include searching for water ice deposits and evaluating the area’s potential for establishing a future lunar research base.

“The probe was transported to the launch site in Hainan province in April and is currently undergoing pre-launch preparations,” Zhang said, adding that all work is progressing smoothly as planned.

The south pole is of high scientific interest due to its permanently shadowed craters, which are believed to contain significant amounts of water ice — a critical resource for future sustained human presence on the Moon.

This mission to the Moon’s south pole comes amid growing international competition in lunar exploration. In 2023, India became the first country to successfully land a spacecraft near the Moon’s south pole with its Chandrayaan-3 mission, which included the Vikram lander and Pragyaan rover.

China has also achieved major lunar milestones in recent years. In 2025, the Chang’e-6 mission made history by returning the first-ever samples from the Moon’s far side. The country is now accelerating its lunar ambitions, with plans to land astronauts on the Moon by 2030.

According to Zhang, China has integrated its manned lunar landing program with its unmanned exploration efforts under a unified lunar exploration project, as reported by state-run Xinhua news agency.

The Chang’e-7 mission is expected to provide valuable data that will support China’s long-term goal of building a permanent lunar research station in collaboration with international partners.