Latest news with #LongMarch3BY110
India Today
6 days ago
- 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
Yahoo
6 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
China launches Tianwen-2 asteroid and comet study mission
May 28 (UPI) -- China Wednesday launched its Tianwen-2 space mission to collect asteroid samples and conduct a main-belt comet study. A LongMarch 3B rocket lifted off from Xichang Satellite Launch Center. The Long March 3B Y110 rocket lifted off toward the near-Earth asteroid 469219 Kamo'oalewa and is expected to take a year to reach the asteroid. Asteroid samples are scheduled to return to Earth by 2027 as the mission heads for a rendezvous with the 311P/Pantstarrs comet around 2035. "All Chinese planetary scientists are now finger-crossed for this historic mission," said University of Hong Kong lunar geologist Yuqi Qian in a statement. The Chinese spacecraft will try to collect rocky matter from the asteroid, sending a capsule full of the space rocks back to Earth. China would be the third nation after the United States and Japan to bring back asteroid samples if this mission succeeds. Scientists will be able to carefully analyze the asteroid samples, identifying chemical and physical properties at detail not possible from remote observations alone. The Kamo'oalewa asteroid is a quasi-satellite of Earth a few dozen meters across with very atypical orbital characteristics. It may be piece of the moon put into orbit by some sort of large impact like a meteor. Studying samples from Kamo'oalewa could yield critical information about the formation and evolution of the Earth-moon system. The deep-space mission's onboard gear includes an ejecta analyzer, a radar instrument, and a magnetometer, which will be used to map the asteroid's and comet's microenvironment. Those instruments can map magnetic fields, detect very small dust particles and also analyze subsurface compositions. Tianwen-2 will orbit the 311P/Panstarrs comet in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter in order to collect data that could help learn where Earth's water came from. This is China's second planetary exploration mission. Tianwen-1 launched a Mars orbiter and rover in 2020.
UPI
6 days ago
- Science
- UPI
China launches Tianwen-2 asteroid and comet study mission
China on Wednesday launched its Tianwen-2 space mission to collect asteroid samples and conduct a main-belt comet study. A LongMarch 3B rocket lifted off from Xichang Satellite Launch Center. Photo courtesy Chinese National Space Administration May 28 (UPI) -- China Wednesday launched its Tianwen-2 space mission to collect asteroid samples and conduct a main-belt comet study. A LongMarch 3B rocket lifted off from Xichang Satellite Launch Center. The Long March 3B Y110 rocket lifted off toward the near-Earth asteroid 469219 Kamo'oalewa and is expected to take a year to reach the asteroid. Asteroid samples are scheduled to return to Earth by 2027 as the mission heads for a rendezvous with the 311P/Pantstarrs comet around 2035. "All Chinese planetary scientists are now finger-crossed for this historic mission," said University of Hong Kong lunar geologist Yuqi Qian in a statement. The Chinese spacecraft will try to collect rocky matter from the asteroid, sending a capsule full of the space rocks back to Earth. China would be the third nation after the United States and Japan to bring back asteroid samples if this mission succeeds. Scientists will be able to carefully analyze the asteroid samples, identifying chemical and physical properties at detail not possible from remote observations alone. The Kamo'oalewa asteroid is a quasi-satellite of Earth a few dozen meters across with very atypical orbital characteristics. It may be piece of the moon put into orbit by some sort of large impact like a meteor. Studying samples from Kamo'oalewa could yield critical information about the formation and evolution of the Earth-moon system. The deep-space mission's onboard gear includes an ejecta analyzer, a radar instrument, and a magnetometer, which will be used to map the asteroid's and comet's microenvironment. Those instruments can map magnetic fields, detect very small dust particles and also analyze subsurface compositions. Tianwen-2 will orbit the 311P/Panstarrs comet in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter in order to collect data that could help learn where Earth's water came from. This is China's second planetary exploration mission. Tianwen-1 launched a Mars orbiter and rover in 2020.
