What Does China Want to Do on the Moon? [Reading Science]

Fudan University Research Team Unveils Plan to Explore Permanent Lunar Shadow Zones Using Advanced Technologies
Overlaps with Multinational 'Artemis Program' Including the US and Korea
Competitive Exploration in Key Areas for Water and Resource Development

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] China, which has declared its ambition to become a space superpower, is mobilizing cutting-edge technology to embark on lunar exploration. It seems poised to dominate the Moon, challenging multinational coalitions such as the United States. Originally planning to pioneer the Moon together with Russia, China now faces the risk of losing an ally due to the Ukraine war. However, it has publicly revealed plans to send a lander to the Moon's south pole permanently shadowed region, where water and resources are believed to be concentrated, attracting significant attention.

According to space news outlet SpaceNews on the 30th, the Electromagnetic Wave Information Science Core Laboratory at Fudan University recently published a research paper including these plans in the international academic journal Deep Space Exploration. The paper states that the mission of China's Chang'e 7, currently under development, is to attempt a high-precision landing in sunlit areas near the lunar south pole, such as craters. Chang'e 7 is scheduled for launch between 2024 and 2025 and will consist of an orbiter, communication relay satellite, lander, rover, and a small flying probe. One of Chang'e 7's primary missions is to explore ice-form water and resources in the Moon's permanently shadowed regions. In particular, Chinese space authorities plan to conduct dozens of landing and flight missions, as well as soil sampling, in the permanently shadowed region using a small flying probe onboard Chang'e 7. This flying probe, named 'Hexa MRL,' is a hexagonal unmanned drone currently being developed at Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

The Moon's permanently shadowed regions are extremely cold areas where sunlight never reaches, with temperatures dropping to minus 230 degrees Celsius. This is colder than the surface of Pluto, the farthest planet in the solar system. However, this extreme cold likely preserves volatile resources such as water ice, methane, carbon dioxide, and ammonia in frozen form.

China's lunar development plans overlap with those of the United States, which has formed a 'multinational coalition.' The U.S. is conducting the Artemis program, which includes manned lunar exploration and the construction of the Lunar Gateway space station, with participation from about ten countries including South Korea and Japan, targeting 2025. This program also involves focused exploration of the Moon's permanently shadowed regions, similar to China's plans. South Korea plays a significant role in this effort. In August, South Korea will launch the lunar orbiter 'Danuri,' equipped with NASA's ShadowCam, to capture visible light images of the permanently shadowed regions. The U.S. also plans to send the lunar resource exploration rover VIPER to the permanently shadowed region by the end of 2023 to investigate whether resources such as water, methane, and carbon dioxide are present, similar to China's mission.

Professor Clive Neal of the University of Notre Dame explained, "The permanently shadowed regions are believed to be reservoirs of water and resources, but humanity still lacks detailed information. Only by deploying rovers or flying vehicles to directly explore these areas can we determine whether substances like ice exist on the surface or underground."