China successfully achieves space mission to study near-Earth asteroid
Internet
Published at: 31/05/2025 10:18 AM
China reached a new milestone in the history of its space
exploration program with the launch of its first probe to collect
samples from an asteroid close to Earth.
The Tianwen-2, launched this Thursday, took off aboard a Long March 3B
rocket from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center,
in Sichuan province, according to the RT portal.
The National Space Administration of China (CNSA),
quoted by Global Times, announced that, after almost 18 minutes of flight, the probe
deployed its solar panels and entered the expected orbit, marking the beginning
of its mission.
Tianwen-2 is in a transfer orbit that
will take it to Kamoʻoalewa (2016HO3), a rocky object is considered a
'quasi-moon' that is between 40 and 100 meters in diameter.
The probe is expected to reach its destination in July 2026,
thus beginning a 7-month mission dedicated to the detailed analysis of the
asteroid and the collection of samples.
The obtained material is expected to return to Earth towards the
end of 2027, through the reentry module.
Mazo News Team