China is poised to launch Chang’e-7, its most technologically complex lunar mission to date, in its search for frozen stores of water in permanently shadowed craters near the moon’s south pole.
\n\nThe uncrewed mission, named after a mythical Chinese goddess of the moon, will feature the deployment of a robotic lander, rover, and “hopping” probe to one of the coldest places in the solar system.
\n\nIt will represent a major step towards Beijing’s long-term goal of building a permanent human presence on the moon, with plans underway for a crewed lunar landing before 2030 and the setting up of a joint research station with Russia by 2035.
\n\nNext week, the Chang’e-7 spacecraft is scheduled to lift off from the Wenchang Space Launch Site in the southern island province of Hainan, atop a Long March 5 rocket with payloads that also include an array of scientific instruments such as water analyzers, cameras and radars.
\n\nOnce in orbit around the moon, the spacecraft will first examine potential landing sites at the south pole before a touchdown attempt.
\n\nOne candidate location is near the rim of the Shackleton crater, a permanently shadowed depression. The jagged rim of the crater, however, is almost continually…
Original source: https://www.nbcnews.com/