Tianwen-4

Tianwen-4
天问四号
Mission typeJupiter and Callisto orbiter
Uranus flyby
OperatorCNSA
Spacecraft properties
ManufacturerCAST
Launch massTotal: 5,000 kg (11,000 lb)[1]
Jupiter–Callisto Orbiter: 4,000 kg (8,800 lb)
Interplanetary flyby probe: 1,000 kg (2,200 lb)
Start of mission
Launch dateSeptember 2029 (proposed)[2]
RocketLong March 5
Launch siteWenchang
Flyby of Venus (gravity assist)
Closest approachApril 2030 (proposed)
Flyby of Earth (gravity assist)
Closest approachFebruary 2031 (proposed)
Flyby of Earth (gravity assist)
Closest approachMay 2033 (proposed)
Jupiter orbiter
Orbital insertionDecember 2035 (proposed)[3]
Orbital departureFebruary 2038 (proposed)
Callisto orbiter
Orbital insertionFebruary 2038 (proposed)[4]
Flyby of Uranus (Interplanetary flyby probe)
Closest approachMarch 2045 (proposed)[3]

Tianwen-4 (Chinese: 天问四号), formerly known as Gan De (Chinese: 甘德),[5] is a planned Chinese interplanetary mission to study the Jovian system, possibly sharing a launch with a spacecraft which will make a flyby of Uranus.[6]

  1. ^ 田百义，张磊，周文艳，朱安文 (February 2018). "《木星系及行星际飞越探测的多次借力飞行轨道设计研究》" (in Simplified Chinese). 《航天器工程》. Archived from the original on 2021-10-09. Retrieved 2021-10-09.
  2. ^ CNSA Watcher [@CNSAWatcher] (23 December 2023). "Tianwen-4, launching Sept 2029, will journey to Jupiter using Venus & Earth gravity assists. Targeting Jupiter capture by Dec 2035 & a Uranus flyby in March 2045, the mission includes 2 probes, one exploring Jupiter's system and another flying by Uranus" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  3. ^ a b Andrew Jones (2023-12-21). "China's plans for outer Solar System exploration". The Planetary Society. Retrieved 2023-12-27.
  4. ^ 张磊，田百义，周文艳，田岱，朱安文 (2018-02-28). "木星系多目标探测轨道设计研究" (in Simplified Chinese). 航天器工程,2018,27(01)：31–36. Retrieved 2023-01-07.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference AJ_planetary_12-01-2021 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Andrew Jones published (2022-09-22). "China wants to probe Uranus and Jupiter with 2 spacecraft on one rocket". Space.com. Retrieved 2022-09-28.