Chang'e-8 probe to carry payloads from 11 countries

Europa Press

La Jornada Newspaper, Friday, April 25, 2025, p. 6

Madrid. China's Chang'e-8 lunar probe, scheduled for launch around 2029, will carry payloads from 11 countries, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) has revealed. The announcement was made during the opening ceremony of its Space Day.

The Chang'e-8 mission will target the Leibnitz-Beta Plateau near the lunar south pole region and will collaborate with the preceding Chang'e-7 mission to conduct scientific exploration and in-situ resource utilization experiments. These efforts will lay the groundwork for the future International Lunar Research Station.

According to the CNSA, the 10 selected collaborative projects include a multifunctional robot designed by Hong Kong researchers, a lunar rover developed by Pakistan and the International Society for Land Vehicle Systems, a Turkish-made exploration rover, and radio astronomy instruments from South Africa and Peru.

Projects include Italy's Laser Retroreflector Arrays, Russia's Plasma and Dust Analyzer and High Energy Particle Detector, Thailand's Neutron Analyzer, Bahrain and Egypt's Lunar Surface Imaging System, and Iran's Lunar Potential Monitor.