China abruptly postpones ambitious Chang’e-7 lunar mission launch

China said on Sunday (August 23, 2026) it was postponing its planned ambitious Chang’e-7 lunar mission, which was set to carry out explorations including searching for water ice on the moon.

The Chang’e-7 spacecraft was originally set to lift off in the coming days from the Wenchang Space Launch Site on China’s southern Hainan island.

The mission does not meet the launch conditions, said the China Manned Space Agency in a brief statement, and “cannot take place during the planned window this year.”

The decision was made following a “comprehensive assessment,” the agency added, and was based on the principles of “prudence, reliability and absolute mission success.” It did not further elaborate on the reasons behind the decision.

Preparations have been carried out at the Wenchang launch site for the Chang’e-7 mission over the past weeks, the seventh in the Chang’e moon exploration program. 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’e refers to a Chinese moon goddess. The Chang’e-6 probe returned to Earth in 2024 with rock and soil samples from the far side of the moon in a world first.