The bidirectional Medium-Energy Proton Detector (MEPD) onboard the lunar surface exploration subsystem of the Chang’E-7 lander represents the first-ever implementation of dual-direction medium-energy proton measurements on the Moon. It is capable of providing spectral data of upward- and downward-directed medium-energy protons in the range of 0.03～30 MeV, offering crucial support for modeling the lunar particle radiation environment and for radiation protection in future crewed lunar missions. The unique challenges of ground calibration for the MEPD were addressed in this study. An electron accelerator was employed to achieve proton-equivalent energy calibration, while the full energy range was validated by analyzing the deposited energy of penetrating high-energy protons. In addition, the suppression capability against electron contamination was quantitatively evaluated through a combined approach of accelerator experiments and numerical simulations. The results show that the detector’s energy calibration deviation is better than 3%, its electron-rejection efficiency exceeds 94% for energies at or below 1.4 MeV, and the average geometric factors of the upward-and downward-facing detectors are 0.053 cm^–2·sr^–1 and 0.3041 cm^–2·sr^–1, respectively. These calibration results provide a reliable foundation for in-orbit data inversion. Furthermore, the established calibration and simulation framework offers valuable reference for the future calibration of lunar and deep-space charged-particle detectors.

To address the critical need for efficient image storage and transmission in aerospace applications, this study presents a CCSDS 122.0-B-1-compliant compression core implemented on FPGA. The design incorporates innovative encoding control logic and optimized data organization through co-optimization of algorithmic features and hardware constraints. A segment-based architecture with 256-pixel blocks achieves superior compression efficiency among existing solutions, while effectively containing error propagation through segmented compression. The architecture further enables continuous quality adaptation and progressive image transmission. To resolve performance bottlenecks in scanning and encoding processes, fully parallelized scanning with adaptive parallel encoding was developed, and a 50% efficiency improvement was demonstrated in validation tests. Supporting images up to 4096×4096 pixel with 16-bit depth, the core delivers 90.64×10⁶ sample·s^–1 throughput, meeting operational requirements for diverse space missions.

The Moon provides a unique and advantageous platform for astronomical observations, particularly in the visible and ultraviolet wavelength ranges, owing to its extremely tenuous exosphere, the absence of atmospheric turbulence, and a stable surface environment. These characteristics enable long-duration, continuous observations free from atmospheric interference. As one of the international payloads aboard the Chang’E-7 mission, the International Lunar Observatory Camera (ILO-C) project aims to exploit these advantages to observe the Milky Way and the broader universe from a distinctive lunar perspective. In addition to its scientific objectives, the project offers unique value for astronomy education and serves as a technology demonstration for future lunar-based astronomical observatories. The ILO-C camera will be mounted on the +y panel of the Chang’E-7 lander and will experience multiple mission phases, including cruise, lunar orbit, and surface operations. This paper systematically investigates the scientific calibration workflow for the ILO-C across these mission phases, with particular emphasis on fundamental calibration, color calibration, and flux calibration, and further presents observational and calibration pathways for cross-validation. The quality of the project’s scientific output will largely depend on the optimized implementation of these calibration schemes. Ideally, in-flight activation and observations are expected to be achieved, allowing coverage of a broader sky area and enabling cross-comparison with observations from other space-based and ground-based astronomical facilities.

The temperature field during solidification has an important influence on the microstructure and properties of the material. Due to the difference of heat convection in space and ground environment, natural convection driven by gravity plays an important role in heat transfer in ground environment. However, in space, the microgravity environment almost eliminates the influence of gravity-dominated natural convection, which will lead to certain differences in the heat transfer characteristics between space and ground, resulting in differences in the temperature field distribution in the material experimental furnace. As a result, the temperature field obtained on the ground is different from that in space under the same temperature control conditions, thus affecting the equivalence of experimental conditions between space and ground materials. The heat transfer characteristics obtained from ground experiments cannot be directly applied to space experiments. This mismatch has a major impact on the space materials experiments. In order to obtain the heat transfer characteristics under microgravity conditions, a three-dimensional numerical model of heat transfer in the high temperature material experimental rack of the space station is established. In the modeling process, reasonable simplification is carried out according to the actual physical conditions, some minor heat transfer factors which have little influence on the overall temperature field are ignored. The temperature field simulation of the ground experiment and the space experiment was carried out respectively, and the temperature distribution of the sample box was obtained. The temperature obtained by simulation was compared with the measured temperature. Through comprehensive analysis of the changes of heat transfer parameters in the space microgravity environment and the normal gravity environment on the ground, the heat transfer law similar to the space condition was obtained. The research results provide a new way to predict the space temperature field distribution based on the ground experiment results of high temperature materials experiment rack and have important guiding significance for the future research of space materials.

The lunar pole’s water ice is essential for understanding the Moon’s evolution and building future lunar research station. Nevertheless, existing orbital remote-sensing missions and returned samples remain insufficient to resolve the key unknowns of polar water, including its occurrence modes (e.g., adsorbed water/hydroxyl, pore-filling ice, or ice-cemented regolith), its abundance and vertical variability, and its potential origin and evolutionary pathways. To address this gap, the Chang’E-7 mini-flying probe will carry the Lunar soil Water molecule Analyser (LUWA) to conduct in-situ detection of water ice at the permanently shadowed region for the first time. This paper describes the compositional structure of LUWA and the detection approach, comprising drilling, sampling, sealing, heating and analysis. We detail the calibration parameters, apparatus, and procedures for its three core analytical modules: the Tunable Diode Laser Absorption Spectrometer (TDLAS), the Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometer (TOF-MS), and the Differential optical Absorption Spectrometer (DAS). The operational chain is designed to release water through thermal extraction, quantify water content with high sensitivity across a wide dynamic range, and enable the determination of D/H isotopic signatures. A systematic ground calibration methodology and a unified calibration framework are established for three functional modules dedicated to water measurement. The framework defines calibration objectives, procedures, and traceability pathways to characterize module response functions, assess background and temperature-dependent effects, verify detection limits and linearity, and evaluate accuracy and repeatability, thereby supporting robust conversion from raw observables to calibrated water-content and isotope products in flight. In parallel, a dedicated lunar in-situ exploration test platform is developed to replicate LUWA’s full operational workflow using lunar regolith simulants, including drilling, sampling, sealing, heating, and analysis. Integrated tests validate key performance metrics and the measurement workflow, providing crucial technical support for interpreting Chang’E-7 LUWA data and for assessing the abundance and occurrence of water ice in lunar soil within PSRs.

The Chang’E-7 mission will deploy China’s first independently developed lunar seismograph at the Moon’s south pole to record ground motions generated by moonquakes and meteoroid impacts. The instrument is designed for an eight-year operation lifetime aimed at characterizing the seismic activity and shallow interior structure of the Moon. To ensure measurement accuracy and long-term operational stability under the extreme conditions of the lunar environment, it is essential to establish a systematic calibration methodology. This will guarantee that the instrument’s key technical parameters and calibration indicators meet the requirements for scientific exploration and data inversion. Based on the technical criteria for ground-based seismograph network integration, and considering performance specifications such as bandwidth, dynamic range, and magnitude range, this paper proposes a comprehensive ground calibration test plan covering critical indicators, including amplitude-frequency response, sensitivity and sensitivity error, self-noise levels and measurement range. Furthermore, in accordance with the operational requirements during the lunar surface phase, an autonomous in-situ calibration scheme has been designed, along with a proposed manual source calibration method on the lunar surface. This study establishes a comprehensive calibration framework for the functionality and performance of the lunar seismograph, providing systematic procedures for performance testing and evaluation throughout all mission phases—from ground validation to in-situ operation on the lunar surface. The proposed framework lays an essential foundation for acquiring high-precision lunar seismic data and conducting subsequent scientific analyses.

The Grid-based Energetic Neutral Atom imager (GENA) onboard the Queqiao-2 Satellite is the first lunar-based magnetospheric Energetic Neutral Atom (ENA) panoramic remote sensing imaging payload. It aims to provide scientific data support for the study of the injection triggering mechanism of the Earth’s magnetospheric substorm, the magnetotail energy conversion mechanism, and the generation process of the Earth’s magnetic storm through high temporal and spatial resolution observation data. The GENA innovatively combines the time-of-flight method with the two-dimensional coded modulation imaging technology to achieve accurate detection of single-particle events and large-scale, high-resolution magnetospheric neutral atom remote sensing imaging. It can be used to measure 4～200 keV H atoms and 8～250 keV O atoms, and the energy resolution is better than 1 keV @10 keV. At the same time, its instrument field of view is greater than 20°×45°, and the resolution of ENA remote sensing images is better than 0.5°. To accurately calibrate the above performance indicators of the GENA, a study on the calibration method of the GENA was carried out. The accelerator beam calibration test verifies the GENA’s ability to identify the type of neutral atoms and measure their energy, and the optical calibration test verifies the GENA’s field of view coverage and image resolution. The calibration test results show that the GENA’s ability to measure H and O atoms can cover the design indicators.

The Chang’E-7 orbiter is expected to carry the Wide-band InfraRed Imaging Spectrometer (WIRIS), which will acquire high spectral resolution images and thermal emission data of the lunar surface across a broad spectral range from the visible to longwave infrared (0.45～10 µm). These data will support scientific investigations into lunar surface mineral composition, thermal environment, and water/hydroxyl detection. Compared to previous lunar orbital hyperspectral instruments, WIRIS enhances quantitative retrieval capabilities for key spectral features such as the Christiansen Feature (CF) of silicate minerals and molecular water. Building upon the design of the Tianwen-1 Mars Mineralogical Spectrometer, WIRIS extends its spectral coverage into the mid- to long-wave infrared range (3.3～10 μm), and incorporates simultaneous temperature measurements to reduce thermal correction uncertainties in the 3 μm water/hydroxyl absorption region. This study addresses the quantitative calibration requirements of the newly extended spectral range by proposing spectral, radiometric, and geometric calibration methods tailored for the mid- to long-wave infrared bands. Based on calibration experiments, the sources of error and associated uncertainties are analyzed. The results provide essential methodological and technical support for accurate physical parameter retrieval and scientific application of WIRIS mid- to long-wave infrared data.