The upcoming launch of the Tianwen-2 probe to the Solar System's asteroid belt will mark a new phase in China's space exploration endeavors as the country pushes ahead with its ambitious space science program to explore further than ever before, according to a Chinese expert.
The Tianwen-2 probe is scheduled for launch on Thursday, aiming to unravel the mysteries of a near-Earth asteroid and a main-belt comet, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) announced on Monday.
The probe will collect samples from the near-Earth asteroid 2016HO3, which marks China's first-ever asteroid sampling mission, and explore the main-belt comet 311P, the agency said.
Zhang Xiaotian, associate professor of the School of Astronautics of Beihang University, stressed that this historic mission is laid on the foundations of the breakthroughs made in recent years, including Tianwen-1 Mars mission, which became the first Chinese probe to touch down on the surface of Mars back in 2021, and the Zhurong rover -- which covered a distance of around 1,900 meters on the red planet.
"Tianwen-2 is an integral part of China's planetary exploration mission. In 2020, we launched the Tianwen-1 probe, a Mars probe, which successfully achieved a soft landing on the Martian surface in May 2021. China's Mars rover Zhurong also conducted a successful exploration of the Martian surface. The country's Tianwen-2 probe marks the second significant phase of the planetary exploration, focusing on asteroid exploration." said Zhang.
Looking further ahead, Zhang outlined the key tasks for the planned Tianwen-3 and Tianwen-4 missions, with the upcoming asteroid exploration set to lay the groundwork for these future endeavors.
"Tianwen-3 aims to collect samples from the surface of Mars for return. Therefore, we can consider Tianwen-2 as having provided crucial technical reserve and validation for Tianwen-3. Subsequently, Tianwen-4 will target even more distant exploration missions to the planets Jupiter and Uranus. Hence, there are many significant missions of planetary exploration in the future that we can look forward to," he said.
Ahead of Thursday's launch, all mission preparations are progressing smoothly at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan Province, according to the CNSA, with the propellant loading of the Long March-3B Y110 rocket set to begin soon.
Previously, the Tianwen-2 probe had completed a series of planned procedures including assembly, testing, fueling, relocation, functional checks, and joint tests, the agency said.
Discovered in 2016 by the Pan-STARRS telescope in Hawaii, the asteroid 2016HO3 is a quasi-satellite of Earth. The asteroid, which runs stably near the Earth's orbit, contains ancient materials from the early solar system, making it a "living fossil" that is useful for studying how the solar system formed and evolved.
The main-belt comet 311P, a celestial anomaly that orbits in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, was discovered by American scientists in 2013. Regarded as a "rebel" of the main asteroid belt, it displays features of both comets and asteroids.
Studying it will provide researchers with valuable insights about the composition, structure and evolution of small space objects, helping to fill gaps in our understanding of the solar system, according to experts.
Launch of Tianwen-2 asteroid mission marks new phase in China's planetary exploration: expert
