China Launches Tianwen-2 to Aim for Double Sample Return, Deeper Solar System Exploration

China envisions exploring the solar system, and it seems that would happen soon. The country launched Tianwen-2, an innovative space probe tasked with retrieving samples from an uncharted asteroid and returning them to Earth. It took off on Wednesday, May 28, from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center on a Long March 3B rocket, the country's second large-scale planetary mission following Tianwen-1's Mars landing in 2021.

Shortly after liftoff, the 2.1-ton spacecraft deployed its fan-shaped solar arrays, signaling a promising start to what will be a decade-long exploration of our Solar System.

Targeting Asteroid Kamoʻoalewa: A Rare Quasi-Satellite of Earth

China Launches Tianwen-2 to Aim for Double Sample Return, Deeper

Tianwen-2's first target is asteroid 469219 Kamoʻoalewa, a small near-Earth object that measures about 60 meters in diameter. This asteroid is unique because of its quasi-satellite orbit, which places it in the Earth's neighborhood as both of them revolve around the Sun. This characteristic's closeness makes it a perfect destination for a comparatively shorter 2.5-year round-trip mission.

The probe will arrive at the asteroid in July 2026, where it will conduct various sampling methods, such as anchor-and-attach drilling with four legs, robotic arm extraction, and touch-and-go surface sampling.

A minimum of 100 grams of rock and dust will be retrieved and returned to Earth by late 2027.

Unlocking Lunar History Through Asteroid Origins

According to Ars Technica, researchers suspect that Kamoʻoalewa could be made up of debris that was expelled from the Moon in the distant past. If proven, this mission could provide historic evidence of the geology of the far side of the Moon and the asymmetry between the hemispheres of the Moon.

The samples will be examined for physical, chemical, mineral, and isotopic content, which could possibly add to the knowledge about the Earth and the evolutionary history of the Moon.

First-Ever Asteroid and Comet Dual Mission

Tianwen-2 does not rest on one celestial body. Following the completion of the asteroid sample return, the mothership, carrying 11 science instruments, will undertake a second mission to tour 311P/PanSTARRS, a mysterious active asteroid or main-belt comet.

The objects exhibit cometary-like behavior but are located within the asteroid belt, and Tianwen-2 will be the first to investigate one nearby, probably in the mid-2030s.

China's Expanding Reach in Planetary Science

While China remains behind NASA in Solar System exploration, its recent efforts are bridging the gap. Following Tianwen-2, China will launch:

• Tianwen-3 (2028): Mars sample return mission
• Tianwen-4 (2029): A Jupiter moon Callisto orbiting mission
• Venus atmospheric sample return and a Neptune probe in the 2030s

In the meantime, NASA stands to lose out on prospective setbacks due to suggested budget reductions that jeopardize flagship missions such as Mars Sample Return and DAVINCI to Venus.