Overview
- China's space agency announced Monday that the uncrewed Chang'e 7 launch from the Wenchang spaceport cannot proceed in the planned window and has been postponed.
- CNSA said the decision was made on principles of caution, reliability and ensuring absolute mission success.
- Thailand's National Astronomical Research Institute (NARIT) said tropical storm Narra near Hainan forced an operational delay and reported the launch was pushed back by about one month.
- Chang'e 7, already at Wenchang atop a Long March 5, carries an orbiter, a lander and a rover plus international instruments intended to search permanently shadowed craters at the Moon's south pole for water ice and other resources.
- No official new launch date has been published, leaving partners and planners to await CNSA's update and creating potential schedule ripple effects for international payload teams and follow‑on lunar activities.