Chang'e 7
Chinese four-element lunar south-pole spacecraft targeting Shackleton crater, launching H2 2026.
Last refreshed: 14 April 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
Can NASA choose a south-pole landing site that doesn't put astronauts next to a Chinese rover?
Timeline for Chang'e 7
Arrived at Wenchang Satellite Launch Center ahead of second-half 2026 launch
Artemis II Moon Mission: Chang'e 7 arrives at Wenchang for launchMentioned in: Non-polar sites, AVATAR tissue in review
Artemis II Moon Mission- What is China's Chang'e 7 mission and when does it launch?
- Chang'e 7 is a four-element lunar south-pole mission (orbiter, lander, mini-hopper, rover) targeting Shackleton crater, with launch planned for the second half of 2026.Source: CNSA
- Is Chang'e 7 going to the same place as the Artemis astronauts?
- Yes. Chang'e 7 targets the rim of Shackleton crater at the Lunar South Pole, the same zone NASA's Artemis programme has identified for crewed landings.Source: CNSA
- Does China's Moon mission carry a Russian instrument?
- Yes. Chang'e 7 carries a Russian science instrument as part of the China-Russia International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) collaboration.Source: CNSA
- What is the ILRS and which countries are involved?
- The International Lunar Research Station is a China-Russia joint lunar infrastructure programme announced in 2021, aiming to establish a permanent presence at the Lunar South Pole.
Background
Chang'e 7 is China's next lunar mission, targeting the rim of Shackleton crater at the Moon's south pole. The spacecraft arrived at Wenchang Satellite Launch Center on 9 April 2026, transported from Beijing by Antonov An-124, and is on course for launch in the second half of 2026. It targets the same south-polar landing zone as NASA's Artemis crewed programme, placing the two national programmes in direct geographic competition for the first time.
The mission is a four-element stack: an orbiter, lander, a small hopping mini-probe, and a rover. The mini-hopper is designed to explore permanently shadowed craters inaccessible to a conventional rover, specifically to hunt for water ICE. Chang'e 7 carries a Russian science instrument, the joint mission being an early tangible product of the China-Russia International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) programme announced in 2021. Russia's role as instrument provider continues despite its Ukraine war-era isolation from Western space programmes.
Chang'e 7 is part of a broader sequence: Chang'e 6 returned far-side samples in June 2024, Chang'e 7 is the south-pole scout, and Chang'e 8 will test in-situ resource utilisation. The National Academies study DEPS-SSB-24-06 is specifically examining whether NASA can identify Artemis IV and V landing sites that are not in direct physical proximity to Chang'e 7's target zone.