China's Chang'e-7 is set to travel to the lunar south pole for a complex,
high-risk comprehensive exploration. The mission aims to achieve multiple
technical breakthroughs: high‑precision lunar soft landing, legged surface
locomotion, short‑range surface hopping and in‑situ probing of permanently
shadowed craters. Permanently shadowed regions at the south pole, which can
remain sunless and at extremely low temperatures, may preserve billion‑year‑old
water ice and are a primary target. Scientific objectives include characterising
the surface environment, regolith water‑ice and volatile content;
high‑resolution mapping of south‑polar morphology, composition and geology;
probing shallow crustal structure, moonquakes, magnetic and thermal properties
and the space environment; and conducting lunar‑based astronomy. The probe will
carry multiple international payloads, and its south‑pole data are intended to
provide key scientific support for Chang'e‑8 and the planned international lunar
research station.
