China is working on a new rover that will begin exploring the lunar south pole in 2026, and the Chang’e 7 mission is part of a new phase of China’s recently confirmed lunar exploration of the south pole and far side. from the moon. will target
According to Space, the Chang’e 7 mission will include an orbiter, lander, rover, and a small flying probe that can go into the mysterious craters to search for evidence of water ice. This task is also supported by a new connection. satellite relay
The Chang’e 7 rover will be slightly larger than the Chang’e 4, in terms of size, designed to carry various instruments and have roughly the same structure, the rover will be more autonomous and also smarter in its trajectory. Like relying on the Earth’s interference.
The craft will have a panoramic camera and ground-penetrating radar like Yutu 2, but instead of the visible infrared spectrometer and Active Neutral Atom Analyzer that Sweden is providing for the Yutu 2 mission, it will have a magnetometer and a Raman spectrometer. Chang’e 7 will also carry a second, smaller rover to the United Arab Emirates.
China will attempt to collect samples from the far side of the moon ahead of Chang’e 7 in the Antarctic-Aitken Basin in late 2024 with the Chang’e 6 mission.
After Chang’e 7, Chang’e 8 is scheduled to launch in 2028 and aims to test 3D printing technologies and use local resources.
The mission is designed to pave the way for a project called the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) in the 2030s.
