China will ‘hop’ a probe into a Moon crater for frozen water

Next week, China will launch Chang’e-7, a robotic mission designed to directly sample frozen water deposits in a crater near the lunar south pole, marking the first time a spacecraft will attempt this direct sampling. The mission aims to determine the quantity, distribution, and origin of ice in these permanently shadowed regions, where temperatures remain among the coldest in the solar system. Yuqi Qian, a planetary geologist at the…