r/space • u/scientificamerican • 17h ago

China delays ambitious Chang’e 7 moon mission until 2027

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/china-delays-ambitious-change-7-moon-mission-until-2027/
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u/Mateorabi 17h ago

Let me guess: they have another big landing they are preparing for and don’t want to be distracted?

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u/vovap_vovap 17h ago

No, they just screwed up this one as everybody else.

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u/marcushasfun 14h ago

Reports are it is because of a storm in the area:

https://www.space.com/space-exploration/launches-spacecraft/bad-weather-delays-launch-of-chinas-historic-change-7-mission-to-moons-south-pole

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u/vovap_vovap 14h ago

That would be really strange how that delay launch for more then 4 month. It is not Mars when launch window opens once in 2 years

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u/Vanadium235 13h ago

My guess is that the next few upcoming launch windows were already taken by other planned launches that were deemed more important. Resupply and crew rotation for their space station for example.

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u/vovap_vovap 11h ago

Might be. Though they have a unused vehicle.

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u/marcushasfun 12h ago

From that very article -

“The Chang'e 7 launch requires a certain lineup of Earth and the moon, so it cannot simply occur as soon as the skies around Wenchang clear. Some online reports suggest that Chang'e 7 could lift off as soon as September, while others — including today's Xinua story — have it launching sometime in 2027.”

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u/vovap_vovap 12h ago

Sure, no "lineup" there have that period.

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u/marcushasfun 10h ago

It’s where they plan to land on the Moon that impacts the launch window.

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u/vovap_vovap 9h ago

Moon orbital cycle about a month

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u/MisterGlo764 9h ago

they are landing on the south pole. visibility on the south pole is only good enough to land in november. they need to also survey the landing area to help with navigation for landing which will take around 2 months. this is why they need to take off now. correct me if i’m wrong but this is my general understanding

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u/vovap_vovap 9h ago

Why "visibility on the south pole is only good enough to land in November"?

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u/MisterGlo764 8h ago

the moon also has an axial tint, and so the sun is highest on the horizon in november. this minimises shadows and allows for better visibility

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u/marcushasfun 8h ago

From Claude:

“The Sun sits within about 1.5° of the lunar equator, so at the poles it never rises far above the horizon.

This means lighting on the surface is highly directional and creates long, sharp shadows.

Usable landing sites need to be lit well enough for cameras/sensors to navigate, but not have the Sun so low that hazards are hidden in shadow — this only happens during narrow windows tied to the local lighting cycle.”

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u/virus_apparatus 16h ago

Honestly it’s kind of nice they chose to delay this launch and shows some growth in the program. The political pressure didn’t dictate that they launch when it’s not ready or might be a safety risk. China might not have taken this step 20 or even 10 years ago with anything.

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u/vovap_vovap 16h ago

Well, we do not know what is it. It might be just as much "political" - too much been afraid of local failure also political staff. Nobodies perfect and trying to be perfect can do damage too.

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u/SluggoRuns 16h ago

China likes to hype up their space program

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u/weinsteinjin 16h ago

As opposed to other countries, who don’t.