Skip to content
ContentLora

    Tip: press / anywhere to search.

    product

    Chang'e lunar program (China)

    Also known as Chinese Lunar Exploration Program, CLEP, Chang'e

    Chang'e is China's robotic lunar exploration programme, which since 2007 has progressed from orbiters to landers, rovers and sample return, including the first samples from the Moon's far side in 2024.[1][2] Its next mission, the water-hunting Chang'e-7, missed its 2026 launch window, while China works toward a crewed lunar landing by 2030.[3][4]

    Editor reviewedUpdated Space exploration and astronomySpaceScience
    Key facts

    What it is

    The Chang’e programme, named after a Chinese Moon goddess, is China’s step-by-step robotic exploration of the Moon.[1] It began with the Chang’e-1 orbiter in 2007. Chang’e-4 made the first soft landing on the Moon’s far side in 2019, and Chang’e-5 returned near-side samples in 2020, the first lunar samples brought to Earth in nearly 50 years.[1]

    Chang’e-6: the far side

    Chang’e-6 launched on a Long March 5 rocket from the coastal Wenchang spaceport on May 3, 2024. It had four parts: a service module, a lander, an ascent vehicle to carry samples back to lunar orbit, and a re-entry capsule.[5] It landed in the South Pole-Aitken Basin on the Moon’s far side on June 1, 2024, drilled and scooped rock and soil, and launched it back to lunar orbit; its capsule landed in China on June 25, 2024 with the first samples ever returned from the far side.[2] The far side cannot talk directly to Earth, so the mission relied on the Queqiao-2 relay satellite.[6] It carried a French radon detector and a Swedish instrument built with ESA support, and released a Pakistani cubesat into lunar orbit.[6]

    Chang’e-7: water at the south pole

    Chang’e-7 is China’s most complex robotic lunar mission so far: an orbiter, lander, rover and a small hopping probe carrying 18 science payloads, several built with international partners.[7] Its main goal is to look for water ice in permanently shadowed craters near the lunar south pole, with the sunlit rim of Shackleton crater the preferred landing site.[7] In May 2026 China said the probe had been delivered to its launch site in April for a launch in the second half of the year.[8] On August 23, 2026, the China Manned Space Agency said Chang’e-7 did not meet launch conditions and could not launch during the planned 2026 window.[3] Chang’e-7 and a later Chang’e-8 around 2029 are steps toward China’s planned International Lunar Research Station.[9] The water search has a practical purpose. Scientists want to know whether lunar ice could be used locally to support a sustained human presence. Chang’e-7 had been expected to get there before NASA’s VIPER rover, which could launch in 2027.[10]

    Toward astronauts on the Moon

    China has merged its crewed and robotic lunar efforts into one project and is targeting a crewed landing by 2030.[4] Early in 2026 it carried out a low-altitude test of the Long March-10 rocket and an abort test of the Mengzhou crew spacecraft at maximum dynamic pressure.[11] The first flights of Mengzhou and the Lanyue lunar lander were still to come as of May 2026.[4] The US is moving on a similar timetable. NASA now plans to test its commercial landers in Earth orbit on Artemis III in 2027 and attempt its first landing on Artemis IV in 2028.[12]

    Why it matters

    China’s programme is the main competitor to NASA’s artemis-program, and US lawmakers cite it in budget debates.[13] Beyond the Moon, China’s Tianwen-3 is scheduled to launch in 2028 and return Mars samples in 2031, now that the US-European mars-sample-return programme has lost its funding.[14][15]

    Questions readers ask

    What did Chang'e-6 achieve?

    It landed in the South Pole-Aitken Basin on the Moon's far side on June 1, 2024 and returned the first far-side samples to Earth on June 25, 2024.[2]

    When will Chang'e-7 launch?

    It was planned for the second half of 2026, but on August 23, 2026 China said it did not meet launch conditions and could not launch in the 2026 window.[8][3]

    When does China plan to land astronauts on the Moon?

    China is targeting a crewed lunar landing by 2030, using the Long March-10 rocket, the Mengzhou crew spacecraft and the Lanyue lander.[4]

    Sources

    Each numbered claim is a statement we checked against the sources listed with it. Status shows how well established it is.

    1. [1]

      China's Chang'e programme, named after a Chinese Moon goddess, began with the Chang'e-1 orbiter in 2007; Chang'e-4 made the first soft landing on the lunar far side in 2019 and Chang'e-5 returned near-side samples in 2020, the first lunar samples returned in nearly 50 years. confirmedas of 2026-10-10

    2. [2]

      China's Chang'e-6 landed in the South Pole-Aitken Basin on the Moon's far side on June 1, 2024, and its capsule returned the first far-side samples to Earth on June 25, 2024. confirmedas of 2026-10-10

    3. [3]

      On August 23, 2026, the China Manned Space Agency said Chang'e-7 did not meet launch conditions and could not launch during its planned 2026 window. confirmedas of 2026-08-23

    4. [4]

      China is targeting a crewed lunar landing by 2030 and has tested its Long March-10 rocket and Mengzhou crew spacecraft, with maiden flights of Mengzhou and the Lanyue lunar lander still to come as of May 2026. confirmedas of 2026-05-23

    5. [5]

      Chang'e-6 launched on a Long March 5 rocket from the Wenchang spaceport on May 3, 2024; it had four parts, a service module, lander, re-entry capsule and ascent vehicle. confirmedas of 2026-10-10

    6. [6]

      Chang'e-6 relied on the Queqiao-2 relay satellite to communicate from the far side, carried France's DORN radon detector and the Swedish NILS instrument developed with ESA support, and released Pakistan's ICUBE-Q cubesat into lunar orbit. confirmedas of 2026-10-10

    7. [7]

      Chang'e-7 combines an orbiter, lander, rover and hopping probe carrying 18 science payloads to search for water ice near the lunar south pole, with the rim of Shackleton crater the preferred landing site. reportedas of 2026-10-10

    8. [8]

      In May 2026 the China Manned Space Agency said Chang'e-7 was scheduled to launch in the second half of 2026 and that the probe had been delivered to its Hainan launch site in April. confirmedas of 2026-05-23

    9. [9]

      Chang'e-7 and a later Chang'e-8 around 2029 are part of preparations for China's planned International Lunar Research Station. reportedas of 2026-10-10

    10. [10]

      Chang'e-7 is designed to look for lunar water near the south pole to assess whether it could support a sustained human presence, and was expected to attempt this before NASA's VIPER rover, which could launch in 2027. reportedas of 2026-10-10

    11. [11]

      In 2026 China tested the Long March-10 rocket in a low-altitude demonstration and flew a maximum-dynamic-pressure abort test of its Mengzhou crew spacecraft. confirmedas of 2026-05-23

    12. [12]

      On February 27, 2026, NASA changed Artemis III into a 2027 crewed mission in low Earth orbit to test rendezvous and docking with one or both commercial lunar landers, ahead of a first landing on Artemis IV in 2028. confirmedas of 2026-02-27

    13. [13]

      The chair of the US House Science Committee warned in April 2026 that China's space station could become the only human-tended platform in orbit if the US did not plan carefully for low Earth orbit. confirmedas of 2026-04-22

    14. [14]

      China's Tianwen-3 Mars sample return mission is scheduled to launch in 2028 and return samples in 2031, collecting fewer samples from a more accessible site than the one Perseverance has explored. reportedas of 2026-01-16

    15. [15]

      Congress's fiscal 2026 spending agreement did not support the existing Mars Sample Return programme, instead providing $110 million for a Mars Future Missions effort that keeps some sample-return technologies alive. confirmedas of 2026-01-16

    Revision history (2)
    1. Page created.
    2. Added Chang'e-6 launch details, Chang'e-7's resource-use goal and VIPER comparison, the Mengzhou abort test and the Artemis comparison.

    Created Oct 10, 2026. Last reviewed by an editor on Oct 10, 2026. Next scheduled review: Jan 10, 2027.

    Cite this page

    "Chang'e lunar program (China)." ContentLora, updated Oct 10, 2026. https://contentlora.com/wiki/chang-e-program

    Spotted an error? Suggest a correction or emailcorrections@contentlora.com.

    Keep exploring

    Connections
    Artemis program Competes withMars Sample Return Mars counterpart programme
    ☰ Contents