The Chinese Lunar Exploration Program, better known as Chang’e after the goddess who lives on the Moon in Chinese mythology, was approved in 2004? and has followed a deliberate step-by-step plan: orbit, land, and return. Chang’e-1 orbited the Moon in 2007, and Chang’e-3 made China’s first soft landing in 2013, the first by any country in 37 years, carrying the Yutu rover, named after the goddess’s jade rabbit.
The program then went where no one had gone before. In January 2019, Chang’e-4 made the first-ever landing on the Moon’s far side, using the Queqiao relay satellite to stay in contact with Earth. Chang’e-5 brought 1,731 grams of lunar samples home in 2020, the first since 1976, and in 2024 Chang’e-6 returned the first samples ever collected from the far side.
The next phase turns to the lunar south pole. Chang’e-7, an orbiter, lander, rover and hopping craft, will search for water ice, followed by Chang’e-8 around 2029 to test using lunar resources. Together they are meant to lay the groundwork for an International Lunar Research Station that China plans to build with partners by 2035.
Key facts
3 missions tracked