China postpones lunar mission

BEIJING: China said on Sunday it has postponed its Chang’e-7 lunar mission after a “comprehensive assessment”, according to state-run Xinhua news agency. The uncrewed Chang’e-7 mission “does not meet the conditions for launch and therefore cannot be carried out within the launch window scheduled for this year”, Xinhua said, citing authorities.

Before Sunday’s announcement, the Chang’e-7 spacecraft, named after a mythical Chinese goddess of the moon, had been expected to be launched as early as next week.

The spacecraft was expected to search for frozen water near the moon’s south pole.