China abruptly delays unmanned moon mission over ‘launch conditions’
China’s manned space agency said on Sunday it is delaying a research moon mission that is part of Beijing’s efforts to land a crew there by 2030, less than two weeks after a rare launch failure. The agency said after a “comprehensive assessment” the mission, which involved sending the Chang’e-7 lunar probe on a Long […]
China has postponed an unmanned lunar mission, the Chang'e-7 probe, due to "launch conditions" not being met, the country's manned space agency announced on Sunday. This abrupt delay occurs less than two weeks after a rare launch failure involving a Long March 7A rocket carrying the Zhongxing-4B communications satellite, which exploded in flight.
The Chang'e-7 mission, aimed at searching for water on the moon's south pole, was scheduled to launch either over the weekend or Monday from the Wenchang Space Launch Center in southern Hainan province. The agency cited a "comprehensive assessment" as the reason for the postponement, emphasizing their commitment to "prudence, reliability, and absolute mission success."
No further details were provided on the specific conditions that led to the delay or when the launch will be rescheduled. This postponement follows the previous mission failure, underscoring China's cautious approach to its ambitious space program, which includes plans to land astronauts on the Moon by 2030.
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