Leonard David's INSIDE OUTER SPACE

Depiction of Chang’e-7 lunar mission.
Image credit: China Media Group

China’s next exploratory probe of the Moon is to depart this year. It is a mission that begins to set the stage for that country’s multi-phased lunar outpost.

The Chang’e-7 mission is on tap to reconnoiter the Moon’s south pole, making use of an orbiter, lander, rover, and a water-seeking, well-instrumented lunar hopper.

“The Chinese will be ahead of everyone else by at least one year, but probably several years,” explains one space scientist.

Candidate landing region of China’s Chang’e-7 lunar lander.
Image credit: Yang Liu/Wang C. et al.

Research station

This upcoming Moon trek will set in motion work on a China/Russia collaboration in establishing a multi-phased International Lunar Research Station (ILRS).

For details about what’s ahead, go to my new Space.com story – “China’s next Moonshot: Chang’e 7 could search the lunar south pole for water this year” – at:

https://www.space.com/astronomy/moon/chinas-next-moonshot-change-could-search-the-lunar-south-pole-for-water-this-year