Chang'e 7

Chang'e 7 will consist of an orbiter, lander, rover and a small, flying detector that can move into shadowed craters to hunt for evidence of water ice. The mission will also be supported by a new communications relay satellite. Chang'e 7 is expected to be launched in 2026 to target the lunar south pole.

The rover will carry a panoramic camera and a ground-penetrating radar like Yutu 2 but will have a magnetometer and a raman spectrometer, instead of the visible and infrared spectrometer and the energetic neutral atom analyzer instrument provided by Sweden for Yutu 2's mission.

Chang'e 7 will also carry a second, smaller rover for the United Arab Emirates.

The rover will also be more independent.

"It's more intelligent. The original rover had more ground intervention, and now the path planning will be more autonomous," Tang said.