Vast secrets hide below the moon’s surface — and China is about to find them out before we do

Just a few months removed from NASA’s record-setting trip around the moon, the party will now abruptly stop.

In April, America’s Artemis II took humans farther away from home than they have ever been, completing a fly-by of the lunar surface that, after several delays, seemed like it was never going to happen.

But the space race isn’t over.

The size of the crater’s rims create permanently shadowed regions.

Before the end of August, all eyes will be on a familiar foe as they take their next stab at lunar exploration.

The Chinese version of NASA, the China National Space Administration, is set to launch Chang’e‑7. The lunar orbiter will fly equipped with a lander, rover, and mobile probe.

According to Ars Technica, the lander is several times larger than NASA-backed probes that have recently landed on the moon’s surface, most of which have been rather underwhelming.

The culmination of Chinese lunar rovers Yutu (2013) and Yutu-2 (2019), Chang’e‑7 has a bold and rather headline-grabbing mission: find water.

China’s mobile hopper probe will search Shackleton Crater, a barren part of the moon’s south pole. The size of the crater’s rims create permanently shadowed regions; researchers believe that if water ice exists on the moon, it’s there.

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According to Our China Story, the “leaper” probe can repeatedly take off and land to get to its destination, making it “the best choice for challenging impact craters.”

“It is a water-seeking ‘hand-scattering’ tool,'” the rover’s description reads after a translation.

The master plan

But what’s below the lunar surface offers the real prize. Aside from looking for ice, National Science Review reports that the Chinese instruments will investigate the moon’s topography, internal structure, magnetic field, and thermal characteristics. Economic and military engineering on the moon depend on this kind of deep geological mapping and study.

The goal is simple: dominate moon knowledge to a degree that gives China a strategic edge against the U.S. in the crucial early stages of space colonization.

Chang’e‑7’s advanced fact-finding mission is about a year ahead of NASA’s Artemis III, with the Asian country saying it has already done the prep work to send humans to the lunar surface in the near future.

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ADEK BERRY/AFP/Getty Images

First, China well launch Chang’e 8, set for 2029, another robotic surface mission. The boots-on-the-ground mission is set for 2030. However, Beijing claims it already has a space station “steadily in orbit” that has served as a platform to verify manned lunar landings.

Falling behind?

This undercuts the mission statement of Artemis III, which is estimated to launch sometime in 2027. The mission was originally meant to include a lunar landing, but that idea has been pushed until Artemis IV. Now, Artemis III will serve as a preparatory mission to ensure a safe landing for Artemis IV astronauts, and while those parameters are behind China’s alleged accomplishments, if Artemis IV hits its goal launch of “early 2028,” it will establish permanent real estate on the moon for the United States.

“Return to the moon before the end of President Trump’s term, build a moon base, establish an enduring presence, and do the other things needed to ensure American leadership in space,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said in March.

That is the real mission, and if NASA can successfully pull off its landing, the race for the moon will effectively be over.

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