/sci/ - Science & Math

China outlines Chang’e-8 resource utilization mission to the lunar south pole,
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https://spacenews.com/china-outlines-change-8-resource-utilization-mission-to-the-lunar-south-pole/
> BAKU, Azerbaijan — China has laid out details of its planned Chang’e-8 mission to test in-situ resource utilization on the moon, while also opening the project to international cooperation.
> Chang’e-8 is slated to launch in 2028 on a Long March 5 rocket from Wenchang spaceport. It will serve as a basis for China’s future, larger-scale International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) project, China National Space Administration (CNSA) officials stated at the 74th International Astronautical Congress in Baku, Oct. 2.
> The Chang’e-8 lander will carry 10 science payloads with a further four on the rover. The lander will carry landing and topography cameras, a seismometer, moon-based Earth radiometer and multispectral imager, a soft X-ray telescope and other payloads along with the ecosystem and ISRU instruments.
>The rover is equipped with 4 scientific payloads. These include a panoramic camera and lunar penetrating radar, as with rovers from the Chang’e-3 and -4 missions. It will also feature an infrared spectrum mineral analyzer and in-situ lunar sample analysis and storage device.
> The mission will follow Chang’e-7 in 2026. That mission will also target the lunar south pole. Together with Chang’e-8 these missions will lay the groundwork for the grander ILRS project in the 2030s.
>Chang’e-6, a first-ever lunar far side sample return, will launch in the first half of 2024 according to CNSA officials. This will follow the deployment of the Queqiao-2 relay satellite to support the mission.