Tianwen-2
| Mission type | Asteroid sample return Comet orbiter/lander |
|---|---|
| Operator | CNSA |
| COSPAR ID | 2025-114A |
| SATCAT no. | 64197 |
| Mission duration | 10 years (planned) 9 months, 19 days (elapsed) |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Manufacturer | CAST |
| Launch mass | ≈2,100 kg (4,600 lb) |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 28 May 2025, 17:31 UTC |
| Rocket | Long March 3B |
| Launch site | Xichang LC-2 |
| Contractor | CASC |
| 469219 Kamoʻoalewa orbiter | |
| Orbital insertion | 7 June 2026 |
| Orbital departure | 24 April 2027 |
| Sample mass | ≥100 g (0.2 lb) |
| 311P/PanSTARRS orbiter | |
| Orbital insertion | 24 January 2035 |
| Tianwen-2 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chinese | 天问二号 | ||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 天问二号 | ||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 天問二號 | ||||||||
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Tianwen-2 (Chinese: 天问二号) is a Chinese asteroid sample return and comet exploration mission that launched on 28 May 2025. The China National Space Agency (CNSA) plans for the probe to return samples from 469219 Kamoʻoalewa—a near-Earth asteroid that is currently a quasi-satellite of Earth—in 2027. After the mothership drops off the sample return vessel to Earth, it is planned to rendezvous with the main-belt comet 311P/PanSTARRS and explore it with its 11 onboard instruments.