Chang'e 8

Chang'e 8 is a planned robotic mission by China to explore the lunar south pole and to establish the technical predicate for the future International Lunar Research Station (ILRS). The mission is expected to launch in 2028 and will include a lander, a rover, and a robot.

Overview
China intends to launch the Chang'e 8 mission as part of its plan to construct the International Lunar Research Station during the 2030s. Chang'e 8 will follow in the footsteps of the Chang'e 7 mission, planned for 2026, and continue the latter mission's physical investigation of the lunar south pole region while pursuing new experiments such as in-situ resource utilization; it will serve as the basis for a larger scale robotic and crewed lunar research station during the ensuing decade.

The mission will include 200 kilograms of "piggyback" payload capacity available for international instruments. CNSA has set December 31, 2023 as the deadline for the submission of letters of intent by interested parties to contribute payloads to the mission.

Potential landing areas
Wang Qiong, deputy chief designer of the Chang'e-8 mission, indicated possible lunar south pole landing areas include the following regions: Leibnitz Beta, Amundsen crater, Cabeus crater, and the ridge connecting the Shackleton and de Gerlache craters.

Scientific objectives
In the October 2023 document that accompanied CNSA's announcement of international cooperation opportunities for the Chang'e 8 mission, the following mission aims are listed:


 * Detection and research of multiple physical fields at the lunar surface
 * Detection and research of the geologic profiles at the landing region
 * Moon-based observation of Earth's atmospheric energy-balance and of Earth's magnetosphere
 * Experiment and research on lunar in-situ sample analyses and in-situ resource utilization
 * Experiment and research employing an enclosed mini-terrestrial-ecosystem on the lunar surface

Mission instruments
Currently, the science payloads on the mission include the following:

Lander
 * landing camera
 * topography camera
 * seismometer
 * radiometer (for Earth observation)
 * multispectral imager
 * soft x-ray telescope
 * Earth ecosystem in lunar environment experiment
 * experiments involving lunar resource utilization (ISRU)

Rover
 * panoramic camera
 * ground penetrating radar
 * infrared spectrum mineral analyzer
 * in-situ lunar sample analysis and storage device.