China's Chang'e 7 moon probe will launch this weekend on the most ambitious lunar mission in history - Space

China's Chang'e-7 lunar mission is set to launch on August 24 (Beijing time) aboard a Long March 5 Y14 rocket from the Wenchang launch site, with hardware transported there in April 2026.
The mission comprises an orbiter, lander, rover, and hopper, alongside a range of international experiments including a U.S.-supported payload, targeting the edge of Shackleton Crater in the lunar south pole region.
Following launch, the orbiter will spend several months circling the moon before releasing the lander for an attempted touchdown near the end of the year.
James Head, a moon scientist at Brown University, described Chang'e-7 as the most ambitious, comprehensive, and complex robotic lunar mission ever attempted by any nation or entity.
The mission's hopper is designed to "jump" from sunlit areas into shadowed craters in search of pockets of water ice, using active shock-absorption technology to land safely on slopes, while the lander will debut China's first deep-space "landmark image navigation" system.
Beyond its scientific goals, Chang'e-7 lays the groundwork for China's planned first crewed lunar landing by 2030, with officials at the China Manned Space Agency pledging to "spare no effort" toward that target.