China to search for water on moon with Chang’e-7 space mission

​​​​​​​By Saadet Gokce

ISTANBUL (AA) - China could become the first country to find lunar water as Beijing prepares to launch its next robotic lunar mission in August to search for water, according to media reports.

China’s Chang’e-7 mission will focus on exploring the lunar south pole to search for water ice and inspect the environment, the South China Morning Post reported Thursday.

Water is a key resource for future human missions to be potentially transformed into drinking water, oxygen or rocket fuel,

Tang Yuhua, deputy chief designer of the mission, described Chang’e-7 as the most complex spacecraft ever developed under China’s lunar program. The spacecraft will include an orbiter, lander, rover, hopping detector and relay satellite, she said.

Lunar soil samples collected by the Chang’e-6 mission contain remnants of asteroids believed to have originated in the outer solar system -- CI-type carbonaceous chondrite meteorites, the China National Space Administration said Thursday.

The rich in water and organic materials offer new research avenues into the distribution and evolution of lunar water resources, it added.

Research suggests that impacts from such meteorites may have contributed to the presence of water on the moon.