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yesterday

China Launches Tianwen-2 on Mission to Sample Earth’s Quasi-Satellite Asteroid and Survey a Comet

Samples from Kamoʻoalewa are scheduled to return in late 2027 before the spacecraft embarks on a seven-year voyage to comet 311P/PANSTARRS.

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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

Overview

  • Tianwen-2 lifted off on May 28 from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center aboard a Long March 3B rocket, entering a transfer orbit toward asteroid 469219 Kamoʻoalewa.
  • The spacecraft is set to rendezvous with the 40–100 m quasi-satellite in mid-2026 and deploy hover, touch-and-go and anchored drilling techniques to collect surface material.
  • A reentry capsule will return the pristine asteroid rocks to Earth in late 2027, making China the third country after Japan and the United States to retrieve asteroid samples.
  • Following sample delivery, Tianwen-2 will use an Earth gravity assist to chart a course for main-belt comet 311P/PANSTARRS, targeting arrival around 2035 for remote study of its dust activity.
  • Equipped with 11 scientific instruments—including spectrometers, high-resolution cameras, radar and particle detectors—the mission aims to illuminate asteroid origins and the early solar system’s evolution.