BEIJING, Aug 23 (Reuters) – 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 […]
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China postpones Chang’e-7 lunar mission
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BEIJING, Aug 23 (Reuters) – 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.
(Reporting by Xiuhao Chen and Ryan Woo; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)