Latest news with #Kamooalewa
India Today
29-05-2025
- Science
- India Today
China launches Tianwen-2 mission to get 100 gms of asteroid soil
China successfully launched its Tianwen-2 mission early Thursday, embarking on an ambitious plan to collect pristine samples from a near-Earth asteroid and return them to Earth—a move that could make China only the third nation to achieve such a feat, after Japan and the United robotic Tianwen-2 spacecraft lifted off aboard a Long March 3B rocket from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan 18 minutes, the spacecraft was placed into a transfer orbit toward its target, asteroid 469219 Kamooalewa (also known as 2016 HO3), which orbits the Sun in a unique path that keeps it relatively close to Earth. Tianwen-2 is scheduled to reach Kamooalewa in July 2026. The spacecraft will attempt to collect rocky samples from the asteroid's surface using both 'touch-and-go' and 'anchor-and-attach' methods, a technological first for asteroid at 17:31UTC May 28, Long March 3B Y110 launched Tianwen-2 asteroid sample return and comet investigation mission from Xichang. The probe was successfully put in the transfer orbit to 2016HO3 ~18 mins after launch. China 'N Asia Spaceflight (@CNSpaceflight) May 28, 2025After gathering at least 100 grams of material, Tianwen-2 will send a capsule packed with the samples back to Earth, aiming for a landing in November discovered in 2016 by astronomers in Hawaii, is believed by some scientists to be a fragment of the Moon, making the mission scientifically significant for understanding the early history of the Earth-Moon study of such objects could also improve planetary defense strategies by revealing more about the composition and structure of near-Earth the sample return, Tianwen-2 will continue its journey, using Earth's gravity to slingshot toward comet 311P/PANSTARRS, where it will conduct extensive observations and further expand China's planetary science rapid advances in space exploration—ranging from lunar landings to Mars rovers—underscore its growing ambitions. 'All Chinese planetary scientists are now keeping their fingers crossed for this historic mission,' said Yuqi Qian, a lunar geologist at the University of Hong successful, Tianwen-2 will not only bring back new clues about the solar system's origins but also cement China's status as a major player in deep space exploration
India Today
20-05-2025
- Science
- India Today
China to launch Tianwen-2 spacecraft to scoop asteroid near Earth
China is set to make history with the launch of its Tianwen-2 spacecraft likely at the end of May, aiming to collect samples from a near-Earth asteroid in the nation's first interplanetary sample-return ambitious project, reported by state-run CCTV, marks a significant step in China's rapidly advancing space exploration program and intensifies the global space race for asteroid Tianwen-2 probe was transported to the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre on May 14, where it is undergoing final inspections and system checks ahead of liftoff. The mission will be carried into space by a Long March-3B rocket and, once launched, will target asteroid 2016 HO3—also known as Kamooalewa—a small, 100-meter-wide 'quasi-satellite' that orbits the sun in a pattern closely synchronised with with a mechanical arm, Tianwen-2 will attempt to scoop up dust and regolith from the surface of 2016 HO3, using both touch-and-go and anchoring probe is expected to return at least 100 grams of material to Earth in about two and a half years, providing valuable insights into the early solar system and the formation of planetary addition to its primary asteroid target, Tianwen-2 will later journey to study comet 311P, further expanding the scope of the mission. The spacecraft carries a suite of scientific instruments, including spectrometers, high-resolution cameras, a radar sounder, and a magnetometer, to analyse the composition and structure of its asteroid mission follows the successful sample returns from asteroids by the United States and Japan, and builds on China's own recent achievements, such as the Chang'e-6 mission, which brought back samples from the far side of the moon in ahead, China plans to attempt a Mars sample-return mission, Tianwen-3, around 2028.
