HELSINKI — China will launch the Tianwen-2 mission to sample a near-Earth asteroid next year, an official with the country’s space agency said Tuesday.
Tianwen-2 is scheduled to launch in 2025, Bian Zhigang, deputy head of the China National Space Administration (CNSA), said Sept. 24, according to Chinese media The Paper.
The mission will first focus on sampling near-Earth asteroid Kamoʻoalewa (2016 HO3). After delivering samples to Earth, the spacecraft will use our planet for a gravitational slingshot maneuver and set it on a course for main-belt comet 311P/PANSTARRS.
Kamoʻoalewa is a quasi-satellite of Earth and is roughly 40-100 meters in diameter. This small body may be a fragment of the Moon, ejected into space by a past impact event, according to one journal article.
The mission aims to conduct close-range observations, sampling, and surface analyses of the two celestial bodies. The objective is to gain primordial information about the solar system’s formation and evolution and even the origin of life on Earth.
To sample Kamoʻoalewa, the Tianwen-2 spacecraft will use both touch-and-go and anchor-and-attach techniques, providing mission redundancy and sampling technology verification. NASA’s OSIRIS-REx and JAXA’s Hayabusa2 missions used the touch-and-go approach, while anchor-and-attach is so far untested.
While a precise launch schedule was not provided, previous indications suggest launch on a Long March 3B rocket in May 2025.
The sample phase is expected to last around 2.5 years. Arrival at 311P/PANSTARRS is expected in the mid-2030s.
A paper on Tianwen-2 objectives published in June reveals the mission will carry 10 science payloads. These include visible and infrared spectrometers, thermal radiation spectrometers, multispectral cameras, radar, and magnetic field detectors.
The spacecraft will feature circular, fan-like solar arrays to generate energy, similar in appearance to those of NASA’s Lucy mission spacecraft.
A parachute system, tested at high altitude last year, will be used to safely return the asteroid samples to Earth. The system was developed by state-owned space contractor CASC. It is based on experience with other space missions, including the Tianwen-1 Mars rover and Chang’e lunar missions.
Future missions, launch systems
Bian also confirmed the schedule for China’s future lunar and planetary exploration missions. Two lunar south pole landing missions, Chang’e-7 and Chang’e-8, will launch in 2026 and 2028 respectively. The former will survey the environment and resources at the lunar south pole, while the latter will include in-situ resource utilization experiments.
Tianwen-3 will be a Mars sample return mission and will launch around late 2028. Tianwen-4 will launch around 2030. It will include a solar-powered Jupiter orbiter and a smaller, radioisotope-powered spacecraft to make a flyby of Uranus.
The CNSA official also stated that China’s heavy-lift and reusable launch systems are set to advance to the demonstration phase.CASC is developing the Long March 9 super heavy-lift launcher for major space infrastructure projects. The Long March 10 meanwhile is being developed to launch crew, including crewed lunar landing missions. CASC’s reusable spaceplane meanwhile recently landed following 267 days in orbit.
Mission Launch Year Objective Tianwen-2 2025 Near-Earth asteroid sample return, followed by rendezvous with comet 311P/PANSTARRS Chang’e-7 2026 Lunar south pole landing Chang’e-8 2028 Lunar south pole landing with resource utilization experiments Tianwen-3 2028 Mars sample return Tianwen-4 2030 Solar-powered Jupiter orbiter and Uranus flyby
