China has announced a delay in the launch of its Chang’e-7 lunar probe, which was intended to search for water ice on the moon.
The official Xinhua news agency reported that the probe does not currently meet the necessary launch conditions, thus the planned liftoff won’t happen within this year’s schedule, as stated by the China Manned Space Agency.
Originally, the Chang’e-7 was slated to launch from the Wenchang Space Launch Site on Sunday. However, reports from Space.com indicated that the launch was first pushed to Monday and then later postponed indefinitely due to tropical storm Narra, which is currently affecting the Gulf of Tonkin near the launch site.
It’s worth noting that China tends to disclose information about its space missions less frequently compared to agencies like NASA, as highlighted by Space.com.
The mission of the Chang’e-7 includes not just searching for water ice, but also mapping resources near the lunar south pole. NASA had planned a similar mission, aiming for the south pole in 2024 with the Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER), but that project was canceled. However, VIPER is now expected to launch in 2027, contingent on achieving certain performance milestones, according to The Planetary Society.
Nasa Administrator Jared Isaacman has touched on the competitive landscape of space exploration, sharing insights on the agency’s future direction and hinting at the rivalry with China. “With credible competition from our greatest geopolitical adversary increasing by the day, we need to move faster, eliminate delays, and achieve our objectives,” he noted earlier this year.
