Meet China’s moon porter for Chang’e-8 mission: a 4-wheeled robot with 2 arms

AdvertisementScienceChinaScienceMeet China’s moon porter for Chang’e-8 mission: a 4-wheeled robot with 2 arms

The AI-powered ‘extraordinary’ rover is set to pick up and install gear developed by teams from around the world on the lunar south pole

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Holly ChikPublished: 8:00pm, 9 May 2026

China is sending a new kind of explorer to the moon – with a humanoid upper body and four wheels.

The lunar rover, developed by a team led by the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), is designed to act as an AI-powered porter for the Chang’e-8 mission, scheduled for 2029.

The 100kg (220lbs) robot will transport, deploy and install instruments and sensors at their designated lunar locations after the Chang’e-8 probe lands. It is also tasked with collecting samples of the moon’s surface.

Advertisement“We have heard that Chang’e-7 is probably going to see the first humanoid robot landing on the [moon’s] south pole. But our robot will go to a different part of the south pole – it is a very large area and we are curious about all of it,” HKUST professor Gao Yang said on April 29.

“This will be a novel demonstration of humanoid robotics on the moon and by China. We are very proud of this design,” she said.

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Gao directs the Hong Kong Space Robotics and Energy Centre which developed the robot in collaboration with 30 universities and space organisations in Hong Kong, mainland China and overseas.

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