The Permanently Shadowed Regions (PSRs) of the lunar south pole have never been directly sampled. To explore and discover lunar resources, the Chinese lunar south pole exploration mission is scheduled to land in direct sunlight near the PSR, where sampling and analysis will be carried out. The selection of sites for lunar landing sampling sites is one of the key steps of the mission. The main factors affecting the site selection are the distribution of PSRs, lunar surface slopes, rock distribution, light intensity, and maximum temperature. In this paper, the main factors affecting site selection are analyzed based on lunar multi-source remote sensing data. Combined with previous engineering constraints, we then propose a comprehensive multi-factor fuzzy cognition and selection model for the lunar south site selection. An analytical model based on a fuzzy cognitive map algorithm is also established. Furthermore, to make a preliminary landing area selection, we determine the evaluation index for the candidate landing areas using fuzzy reasoning. Using the proposed model and combined scoring index, we also verify and analyze the prominent impact craters at the lunar south pole. The scores of de Gerlache (88.48 degrees S 88.34 degrees W), Shackleton (89.67 degrees S 129.78 degrees E), and Amundsen (84.5 degrees S, 82.8 degrees E) craters are determined using fuzzy interference as 0.816, 0.814, and 0.784, respectively. Moreover, using our proposed approach, we identify feasible landing sites around the de Gerlache crater close to the PSR to facilitate discovery of water ice exposures in future missions. The proposed method is capable of evaluating alternative landing zones subject to multiple engineering constraints on the Moon or Mars based on the existing data.

Direct sampling has never been performed in the permanently shadowed regions (PSRs) of lunar poles up to now. In the Chinese Chang'e-7 (CE-7) mission, a mini-flyer will fly from the lander in a solar illuminated region at the lunar south polar region to the nearby PSRs to collect samples for analysis. In this letter, four potential craters of the lunar south pole, including Shackleton, Shoemaker, de Gerlache, and Slater are discussed for this proposal. Design principles of the landing site, sampling site, and flight route are presented. The local surface slopes are calculated using a digital elevation model (DEM) to select a flat area as a potential landing site, which should allow ample time for solar illumination to support the rover from the lander and allow the flyer to reach the neighboring PSRs. Mini-RF data are applied for further validation of the flat landing and sampling sites, particularly for some rocky rough surfaces that are not identified in DEM and optical images of PSRs. The craters de Gerlache and Slater are found to be suitable for further analysis when high-resolution synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data are acquired by the new polarimetric SAR carried by CE-7.