HAIKOU, China (AP) 鈥� China said on Sunday it was postponing its planned ambitious Chang鈥檈-7 lunar mission, which was set to carry out explorations including searching for water ice on the moon.
The Chang鈥檈-7 spacecraft was originally set to lift off in the coming days from the Wenchang Space Launch Site on southern Hainan island.
The mission does not meet the launch conditions, said the China Manned Space Agency in a brief statement, and 鈥渃annot take place during the planned window this year.鈥�
The decision was made following a 鈥渃omprehensive assessment,鈥� the agency added, and was based on the principles of 鈥減rudence, reliability and absolute mission success.鈥� It did not further elaborate on the reasons behind the decision.
Preparations have been carried out at the Wenchang launch site for the Chang鈥檈-7 mission over the past weeks, the seventh in the . It aimed at making breakthroughs in key technologies, the official Xinhua news agency previously reported.
It was set to explore permanently shadowed craters on the moon and conduct environmental and resource surveys of the lunar south pole, the Xinhua report said, citing the space agency.
Chang鈥檈 refers to a Chinese moon goddess. The Chang鈥檈-6 probe with rock and soil samples from the far side of the moon in a world first.
Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
