China abruptly delays ambitious Chang’e-7 mission to find water ice on moon
China has postponed its Chang’e-7 lunar mission, which was due to launch in the coming days and search for water ice near the Moon’s south pole, a government agency said Saturday. Officials said the mission did not meet launch conditions, without providing further details.
China has abruptly delayed its ambitious Chang'e-7 lunar mission, which was set to search for water ice on the moon. The launch, originally scheduled for the coming days from the Wenchang Space Launch Site on Hainan Island, cannot proceed due to the mission failing to meet the required launch conditions, according to the China Manned Space Agency.
The decision, made after a comprehensive assessment, is based on principles of prudence, reliability and absolute mission success. The agency did not provide further details on the reasons behind the postponement. The Chang'e-7 mission was the seventh in China's lunar exploration program, aiming to break through key technologies and explore permanently shadowed craters on the moon, conducting environmental and resource surveys of the lunar south pole.
The mission was set to return with rock and soil samples from the far side of the moon, marking a world first.
Written by urgent.news from Associated Press's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
This story
This is one outlet's version. Read the fullest account.
- China abruptly postpones ambitious Chang’e-7 lunar mission launch apnews.com
- China abruptly postpones ambitious Chang'e-7 lunar mission launch phys.org
- China postpones moon launch as mission fails to meet launch conditions cbsnews.com
- China abruptly postpones ambitious Chang’e-7 lunar mission launch winnipegfreepress.com
