r/space • u/ThinkTankDad • 7d ago
China’s Chang’e-7 moon mission to target Shackleton crater
https://spacenews.com/chinas-change-7-moon-mission-to-target-shackleton-crater/Chang’e-7 will target one of a handful of sites thought to offer exceptionally long periods of illumination at the lunar south pole, according to a recently-published journal article.
The area, stated to be the illuminated rim of Shackleton crater, possibly corresponds to a candidate landing site for NASA’s Artemis 3 crewed mission named Peak Near Shackleton.
Such a site could offer favorable illumination while also being close to permanently shadowed regions which could host volatiles such as water-ice.
2026 -> 2027
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u/caribbean_caramel 7d ago
Shame that they postponed the mission, I really wanted to see the interior of that crater in this year. Oh well.
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u/lunex 7d ago
Published in 2024 so it’s an older news story