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yesterday

China Launches Tianwen-2 Mission to Sample Near-Earth Asteroid

The mission will pioneer three autonomous sampling methods using 11 scientific instruments to uncover whether Kamoʻoalewa is a lunar fragment.

The Hubble Space Telescope captured an image of 311P/Pan-STARRS on September 23, 2013.
China's Tianwen-2 probe is transported to its launch area, after completing its scheduled assembly, testing and fueling at the technical area of the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan Province, May 18, 2025. The probe is scheduled for launch at the end of May, according to the China National Space Administration (CNSA) on Sunday. It will subsequently conduct functional checks and joint tests. Previously, the Long March-3B Y110 rocket, which will carry out the Tianwen-2 launch mission, was transferred from the technical area to the launch area on May 14 and completed lifting and docking operations, said the CNSA. China Xichang Tianwen 2 Transport Launch Area - 18 May 2025
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Overview

  • Tianwen-2 lifted off on May 28 from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center aboard a Long March 3B and is now on course for asteroid 469219 Kamoʻoalewa.
  • The spacecraft will attempt hover sampling, touch-and-go and anchored drilling to secure up to a kilogram of material from the 40–100 meter quasi-satellite by July 2026.
  • A return capsule will deliver the samples to Earth in late 2027 for analysis of mineralogy, organics and the asteroid’s possible lunar origin.
  • Following sample delivery, Tianwen-2 will execute an Earth gravity assist to set off on a ten-year journey toward main belt comet 311P/PANSTARRS, with a flyby expected around 2035.
  • Eleven onboard payloads—including multispectral and infrared spectrometers, high-resolution cameras, a radar sounder and magnetometer—will deepen China’s small-body exploration capabilities.