Tianwen-2

Tianwen-2
天问二号
Mission typeAsteroid sample return
Comet orbiter/lander
OperatorCNSA
Mission duration10 years (planned)
Spacecraft properties
ManufacturerCAST
Launch mass≤2,000 kg (4,400 lb)[1]
Start of mission
Launch dateMay 2025 (planned)[2]
RocketLong March 3B[2]
Launch siteXichang[3]
ContractorCASC
469219 Kamoʻoalewa orbiter
Orbital insertion2026
Orbital departure2027
Sample mass≥100 g (0.2 lb)[1]
311P/PANSTARRS orbiter
Orbital insertion2034[4][5]

Tianwen-2 (Chinese: 天问二号) is a planned Chinese asteroid sample return and comet exploration mission that is currently under development.[6] Tianwen-2 was originally known as ZhengHe.[7]

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference johbiot was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference sn-20230626 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference sn-20200805 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Snodgrass, Colin (October 2018). "Exploring the next frontier: the Main Belt Comets – Chinese MBC mission" (PDF). University of Edinburgh. p. 20. Retrieved 4 June 2019.
  5. ^ 我们的太空 (2021-04-27). "【讯息·航天】2021中国航天大会 航天领域重磅消息密集发布：小天体探测、月球科研站、重型火箭……" (in Simplified Chinese). 知乎. Retrieved 2022-06-25.
  6. ^ Jones, Andrew (2022-05-18). "China to launch Tianwen 2 asteroid-sampling mission in 2025". Space.com. Retrieved 2022-07-31.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference lpsc2019 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).