Latest news shows that China's Chang'e-7 mission is planned to be launched around 2026, making its first journey to the lunar south pole to conduct key scientific research tasks such as lunar surface environment surveys and water ice detection. If it successfully confirms the presence of water on the Moon, China is expected to become the first country in the world to discover water on the Moon!

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Currently, the Chang'e-7 mission is progressing smoothly, with six international payloads already onboard the probe, forming a new pattern of multinational cooperation in lunar exploration. It is worth looking forward to that Chang'e-7 will work in conjunction with the subsequent Chang'e-8. How will these two probes make their debut on the Moon, gradually building a "scientific outpost" for humans on the Moon?

The Thai National Astronomical Research Institute recently announced that it has submitted the lunar particle monitor, an effective payload for the Chang'e-7 mission, to China for cooperation. There are many cooperating countries for the Chang'e-7 mission, with six payloads from seven countries and international organizations including Egypt, Bahrain, Italy, Russia, Switzerland, Thailand, and the International Lunar Observatory Association installed on the probe, all traveling to the Moon to carry out related scientific research.

Deputy Chief Designer of the Chang'e-7 Mission, Tang Yuhua: Seven countries, six payloads, one of which is jointly developed by two countries - Egypt and Bahrain.

Reporter: Has Thailand already delivered its payload, and which others have been delivered?

Deputy Chief Designer of the Chang'e-7 Mission, Tang Yuhua: All have been delivered, and everything is proceeding normally.

According to the introduction, these six international payloads were selected based on principles such as scientific objectives and engineering feasibility.

Among them, the Chang'e-7 lander will carry:

  • Italy's laser retroreflector array, which supports high-precision measurement of the lunar surface and orbiting spacecraft navigation
  • Russia's lunar dust and electric field detector, which studies the dust plasma environment in the near-surface exosphere of the Moon
  • The International Lunar Observatory Association's lunar-based astronomical observation telescope, conducting observations of the Milky Way, Earth, and panoramic sky from the Moon

The orbiter will carry:

  • The lunar surface material hyperspectral imager jointly developed by Egypt and Bahrain, used to analyze and identify lunar surface materials and environments
  • Switzerland's lunar-based dual-channel Earth radiation energy spectrum instrument, monitoring changes in the Earth's climate system radiation budget from the Moon
  • Thailand's space weather global monitoring sensor, warning about magnetic disturbances and cosmic radiation caused by solar storms

In general, the Chang'e-7 mission is planned to be launched around 2026, aiming to survey the lunar surface environment, lunar soil water ice, and volatile components at the lunar south pole, and to conduct high-precision detection and research on the lunar topography, composition, and structure. Wu Weiren, the chief designer of China's lunar exploration program, introduced that major space powers around the world currently focus on the north and south poles of the Moon because, like Earth, the Moon also has polar day and polar night phenomena. In certain highlands of the South Pole, there can be continuous sunlight for over 100 days, which is conducive to long-term human operations.

Chief Designer of China's Lunar Exploration Program, Wu Weiren: This would lay the foundation for humans to conduct long-term operations and survival on the South Pole. Therefore, we must look for water. Whether there is water in the crater is a huge discovery, an extraordinary achievement.

The leap in launch capability provides solid support for the "heavy expedition" of the Chang'e-7. During the Chang'e-3 and Chang'e-4 missions, the Long March 3A series launch vehicle was used, which had limited carrying capacity. However, the Long March 5 launch vehicle, which serves as the messenger for the Chang'e-7 mission, has much greater carrying capacity, ensuring that the Chang'e-7 probe can carry nearly twice as many types and quantities of payloads compared to previous ones.

Deputy Chief Designer of the Chang'e-7 Mission, Tang Yuhua: The Chang'e-5 and Chang'e-6 mainly focused on sample return, carrying only five or six types of payloads. The Chang'e-4 had slightly more, with over ten types, as it carried four international payloads. Adding the Chinese payloads, the number and types of payloads actually increased by a factor of two. Because the Chang'e-7 consists of four modules and one satellite – the lander, orbiter, rover, flying probe, and relay satellite – each module carries scientific payloads. Therefore, the number and types of payloads for the Chang'e-7 are the most.

According to the blueprint, Chang'e-8 will be launched around 2028, also landing on the lunar south pole to pave the way for China's manned lunar landing around 2030. Previously, in China's lunar exploration program, the Chang'e-3 and Chang'e-4, and the Chang'e-5 and Chang'e-6, were produced in batches, so initially, the Chang'e-4 served as a backup for the Chang'e-3, and the Chang'e-6 served as a backup for the Chang'e-5. Then, what is different about the Chang'e-7 and Chang'e-8 missions, both planned to land on the lunar south pole?

Peng Jing, the chief designer of the Chang'e-8 probe system, explained that in addition to establishing a lunar communication system and energy system, one of the core goals of the Chang'e-8 mission is to verify the technology for in-situ utilization of lunar soil, exploring the feasibility of constructing facilities using local materials on the Moon. Specifically, the Chang'e-8 mission plans to conduct a verification of building houses using lunar soil, with the key principle being to melt lunar soil at high temperatures and then use 3D printing technology to produce building components of different specifications.

Chief Designer of the Chang'e-8 Probe System, Peng Jing: The volume of the payloads carried by these two differs greatly, so the work done on the lunar surface is quite different. Each mission has its own unique mission. From now on, the Chang'e-7 and Chang'e-8 have completely different relationships compared to before. They were not defined as backups for the Chang'e-7, so the detailed design, especially the overall composition of the probe, including the typical lander's scientific instruments, as well as the size, weight, and other characteristics, differ significantly.

Although the missions are different, the "sisters" Chang'e-7 and Chang'e-8 will closely collaborate, conducting joint exploration and technology verification. Together with the Queqiao-2 relay satellite, they will lay the foundation for the construction of the International Lunar Research Station.

Currently, the Chang'e-7 and Chang'e-8 missions are progressing smoothly. According to the introduction, the International Lunar Research Station is initiated by China, with multiple countries jointly building a comprehensive scientific experimental facility on the lunar surface and in lunar orbit, which can operate independently for a long time and have short-term human participation, and can be expanded and maintained. It is scheduled to complete the basic type construction by 2035 and the extended type construction by 2045. The International Lunar Research Station has established five scientific and application goals, namely lunar geology, lunar-based astronomy, Earth-Moon environment, fundamental science, and resource utilization. Based on this, it will further solve the issues of the origin and evolution of the Moon, deeply study the evolution of the dark age and dawn age of the universe, explore the essential characteristics of similar Earth-like living environments, and carry out lunar ecological experiments and fundamental science experiments, while promoting the development and utilization of lunar energy and material resources.

Source/CCTV News Client

Edit/Wang Xinting

Review/Li Shuyang

Supervisor/Huang Xi

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7563591270115836442/

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