SpacecraftMoonIn development

Chang'e-8

Planned Chinese lunar mission to the Leibnitz-Beta Plateau near the lunar south pole that CNSA says will work with Chang'e-7 on scientific exploration and in-situ resource utilization experiments as groundwork for the International Lunar Research Station. CNSA announced on 24 April 2025 a launch around 2029 with payloads from 11 countries and regions and one international organization. A CNSA-hosted Xinhua article dated 25 April 2025 says the mission will carry a 30-kilogram lunar rover developed by Pakistan's SUPARCO, contributing to terrain mapping and regolith analysis.

Objective. Conduct in-situ resource utilization experiments and scientific exploration jointly with Chang'e-7.

Targeted

See the south pole on the 3D Moon

Facts

Kind: Spacecraft
Mission type: ISRU demonstration
Target: MoonLeibnitz-Beta Plateau, lunar south polar regionSouth polar region, no point: Lunar south pole missions
Launch: Planned 2029 (target)
Announcement date not recorded. Record checked 2026-10-28.
Phase: In developmentCNSA/Xinhua release of 2025-04-24/25 on schedule and payload selection; CNSA page rechecked 2026-10-28.
Outcome: Not applicable
Why it is included: Stated resource objective

What comes next

Next recorded dates are plans, not results.

Launch: Planned 2029 (target)Announcement date not recorded. Record checked 2026-10-28.

Participants

Operators, payload owners, carriers and customers are recorded separately.

Organization	Role
China National Space Administration	Operator

Resources and evidence

Resource	Evidence
Regolith	Targeted

Open evidence gaps

Specific ISRU payload (press reports solar melting of regolith into bricks) not confirmed from a CNSA page.
An earlier public target of around 2028 appears in press and is not cited on this record, so it is not listed as a dated schedule change.
The SUPARCO rover sentence states a payload role. It does not confirm any in-situ resource utilization method and is not a launch-date update.

Record history

changes to this record's facts, newest first

Changed	Field	Was	Now	Reason	Source
2026-11-10	summary	Planned Chinese lunar mission to the Leibnitz-Beta Plateau near the lunar south pole that CNSA says will work with Chang'e-7 on scientific exploration and in-situ resource utilization experiments as groundwork for the International Lunar Research Station. CNSA announced on 24 April 2025 a launch around 2029 with payloads from 11 countries and regions and one international organization.	Planned Chinese lunar mission to the Leibnitz-Beta Plateau near the lunar south pole that CNSA says will work with Chang'e-7 on scientific exploration and in-situ resource utilization experiments as groundwork for the International Lunar Research Station. CNSA announced on 24 April 2025 a launch around 2029 with payloads from 11 countries and regions and one international organization. A CNSA-hosted Xinhua article dated 25 April 2025 says the mission will carry a 30-kilogram lunar rover developed by Pakistan's SUPARCO, contributing to terrain mapping and regolith analysis.	Source update	[3]
2026-11-10	open evidence gaps	Specific ISRU payload (press reports solar melting of regolith into bricks) not confirmed from a CNSA page. \| An earlier public target of around 2028 appears in press and is not cited on this record, so it is not listed as a dated schedule change.	Specific ISRU payload (press reports solar melting of regolith into bricks) not confirmed from a CNSA page. \| An earlier public target of around 2028 appears in press and is not cited on this record, so it is not listed as a dated schedule change. \| The SUPARCO rover sentence states a payload role. It does not confirm any in-situ resource utilization method and is not a launch-date update.	Source update	[3]

Sources

4 excerpts from 2 publications

One web address counts as one publication.

[1]China to launch Chang'e-8 lunar mission around 2029, collaborating with int'l partners
CNSA (Xinhua)Government recordPublished 2025-04-25Accessed 2026-10-28Supports: objective, why it is included, target site
The Chang'e-8 mission will target the Leibnitz-Beta Plateau near the lunar south pole region, working with the earlier Chang'e-7 mission to conduct scientific exploration and in-situ resource utilization experiments.
Quote matched the source text when accessed.
[2]China to launch Chang'e-8 lunar mission around 2029, collaborating with int'l partners
CNSA (Xinhua)Government recordPublished 2025-04-25Accessed 2026-10-28Supports: launch date, phase
the Chang'e-8 lunar probe is scheduled for launch around 2029, and will carry payloads from 11 countries and regions and one international organization
Quote matched the source text when accessed.
[3]China deepens international collaboration to push forward deep-space exploration
CNSA (Xinhua)Government recordPublished 2025-04-25Accessed 2026-11-10Supports: summary, open evidence gaps
The Chang'e-8 mission will carry a 30-kilogram lunar rover developed by SUPARCO, contributing to terrain mapping and regolith analysis.
Quote matched the source text when accessed.
[4]China deepens international collaboration to push forward deep-space exploration
CNSA (Xinhua)Government recordPublished 2025-04-25Accessed 2026-11-10Supports: summary
Amjad Ali, a senior official with the Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) of Pakistan
Quote matched the source text when accessed.

Cite this record

SpaceMiningData, “Chang'e-8”, dataset version a00fa2c68a45, built 2026-11-11, https://spaceminingdata.com/missions/cnsa-change-8.html. Record checked 2026-10-28.