China’s historic Chang’e-7 mission to drill for ice near the moon’s south pole has been delayed, the country’s human space flight programme authority said on Sunday.
The Chang’e-7 – carrying an orbiter, a lander, a rover and a hopper – was set to lift off aboard a Long March 5 rocket from the Wenchang spaceport in southern China as early as Monday.
The China Manned Space Agency said on Sunday evening that the mission would be postponed following a comprehensive assessment to adhere to principles of safety and reliability.
“The Chang’e-7 mission does not meet the launch conditions and cannot be carried out within the scheduled launch window this year,” state news agency Xinhua reported, citing the agency.
Earlier on Sunday, the National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand (NARIT) – which developed a scientific instrument onboard the spacecraft – announced that the mission would be postponed due to the development of Tropical Storm Narra in the South China Sea.
“Due to the target landing site on the lunar south pole, this makes for a very particular launch window in which the sun lined up just right for the lunar crater,” NARIT said.