China has successfully launched its first-ever mission to retrieve pristine asteroid samples, marking a significant step in Beijing’s ambitions for interplanetary exploration. The Long March 3B rocket lifted off at 1:31 am local time on Thursday from the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre in southwest China’s Sichuan province, carrying the Tianwen-2 spacecraft. This robotic probe aims to make China the third nation to fetch pristine asteroid rocks after Japan and the United States.
According to Chinese state-run news outlets, the “spacecraft unfolded its solar panels smoothly,” and the China National Space Administration (CNSA) declared the launch a success. Over the next year, Tianwen-2 will approach a small near-Earth asteroid, “469219 KamoÊ»oalewa,” also known as 2016HO3, which is potentially a fragment of the Moon. The spacecraft is scheduled to arrive at the asteroid in July 2026 and shoot the capsule with rock samples back to Earth for a landing in November 2027.
The mission’s purpose is described as an “endeavour to shed light on the formation and evolution of asteroids and the early solar system.” Shan Zhongde, head of the CNSA, said the mission represents a “significant step in China’s new journey of interplanetary exploration” and is expected to yield “groundbreaking discoveries and expanding humanity’s knowledge of the cosmos.”
Mission Objectives:
- Collecting Samples: Retrieve samples from near-Earth asteroid 2016HO3
- Exploring Celestial Targets: Measure physical parameters of the asteroid and main-belt comet 311P, including orbital dynamics, rotation, size, shape, and thermal properties
- Asteroid Research: Determine physical properties, chemical and mineral composition, and structural characteristics of asteroids
The asteroid 2016HO3 is a quasi-satellite of Earth, orbiting the Sun in a synchronized path with our planet for nearly a century. It has a diameter of between 120 feet (40 meters) and 300 feet (100 meters). China has rapidly expanded its space programs, including landmark missions like landing robots on the far side of the Moon and collecting samples from the area. The country is also running its own Tiangong space station and has invested heavily in planned crewed missions to the Moon, aiming to put Chinese astronauts on the lunar surface by 2030.