China’s Chang'e 7 lunar mission was listed by Supercluster for September 2026, to launch on a Long March 5 rocket from Launch Pad 101 at Wenchang Space Launch Site in Hainan, with time not yet determined; later reporting in late August said China postponed the launch after determining it could not meet the planned window, with the mission pushed into 2027 and no new date announced.[1][3][10]
The mission is aimed at the Moon’s south pole, where permanently shadowed craters may hold frozen water; that makes Chang'e 7 a direct probe of the resource base needed for life support, propellant production, radiation-mitigating infrastructure, and long-duration surface operations.[3][8][11]
The Ark team should track payload performance, landing-site selection, plume–regolith interaction, and any confirmed detection methods for volatiles, because these data affect excavation, extraction, and settlement design for a self-sustaining lunar archive and refuge.[4][8][12]