Azernews.Az

By Alimat Aliyeva

China has successfully launched its first deep-space probe, Tianwen-2, to explore asteroids and comets — marking another milestone in the country’s rapidly advancing space program, Azernews reports.

The launch took place on May 29 at 1:31 a.m. local time (May 28 at 9:31 p.m. Baku time) from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan Province. The probe was carried into space by a Long March launch vehicle, which placed it into orbit 18 minutes after liftoff.

According to the China National Space Administration (CNSA), the primary mission of Tianwen-2 is to collect soil samples from asteroid 2016 HO3, a quasi-satellite of Earth — meaning it orbits the Sun but remains in close proximity to Earth. The probe will then proceed to study comet 311P, located in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.

The mission’s scientific goals include gathering data on the composition, structure, and evolutionary history of small celestial bodies. The Tianwen-2 spacecraft is equipped with advanced instruments to measure a variety of physical parameters such as size, shape, orbital behavior, rotation patterns, and thermal radiation. By analyzing this data, scientists aim to better understand not only the surfaces of these bodies but also their internal structures and the materials they are composed of.

An especially ambitious aspect of the mission is its sample return component: Tianwen-2 will attempt to bring samples from asteroid 2016 HO3 back to Earth by 2027. If successful, this would make China only the second country after Japan to retrieve material from an asteroid — following in the footsteps of missions like Hayabusa2.

Asteroid 2016 HO3, also known as Kamoʻoalewa, is one of the most stable quasi-satellites of Earth and is thought to have a composition that may preserve ancient materials from the early Solar System. Studying such objects could provide critical clues about the origins of water and organic molecules on Earth — and possibly even the ingredients for life itself.