China's new moon mission could unlock secret of lunar ice: Why that matters

China's new moon mission could unlock secret of lunar ice: Why that matters China is set to launch its Chang'e-7 unmanned, robotic space mission, possibly as early as Monday morning, to look for ice water in the permanently shadowed craters of the moon's south pole. This marks China's seventh and most ambitious moon mission so far. Here is what we know about it. What do we know about Chang'e-7? The Chang'e 7 launch window runs from Monday, August 24 to Monday, August 31, according to launch observers.