China Manned Space Agency Announces Mission Headquarters Concluded Launch Cannot Proceed. Long March 5 Already Moved To Wenchang Tower. South Pole Launch Windows Open Only Once Or Twice Per Year. Chang’e 6 Retrieved 1,935g From Moon’s Far Side In 2024
According to China Daily, China’s Chang’e 7 robotic lunar mission has been postponed after the China Manned Space Agency announced on Sunday, August 24, that the mission had failed to meet its launch criteria for this year’s scheduled window. The agency said the decision was made “in accordance with the principles of prudence, reliability and absolute safety” without providing further technical details.
The announcement came despite considerable logistical progress: a Long March 5 carrier rocket with the Chang’e 7 probe on top had already been moved to its launch service tower at the Wenchang Space Launch Center in Hainan province on Wednesday, and the agency had stated a launch would take place “in due course in the coming days.” The spacecraft had been transported to Wenchang by air in April and the rocket arrived by ship in July; both were assembled and tested on site.
The postponement is particularly significant because Chang’e 7’s target; the lunar south pole, imposes far stricter launch window constraints than standard lunar missions. While Earth-Moon transfer windows open roughly once a month, south pole geometry restricts usable opportunities to just one or two per year. The mission is tasked with searching for traces of water on the moon. China has conducted six robotic lunar missions to date, most recently Chang’e 6 which retrieved 1,935.3 grams of far-side samples in summer 2024.
The rocket was on the launch pad. The mission failed the criteria. The south pole will wait another year.
Check out our previous coverage of China’s space programme on The Trusted Times.
