China’s Tianwen-2 Asteroid and Comet Exploration Mission Scheduled for Launch

Insider Brief

• Tianwen-2, launching May 29, 2025, is China’s first asteroid sample return and comet exploration mission, targeting near-Earth asteroid Kamoʻoalewa and main-belt comet 311P/PANSTARRS.
• The spacecraft will collect material from Kamoʻoalewa using touch-and-go and anchor methods, aiming to uncover clues about the solar system’s formation and possibly lunar origins.
• After returning samples to Earth, Tianwen-2 will continue to 311P/PANSTARRS to study its composition and better understand the origins of water and organics in the solar system.

China is preparing to launch its Tianwen-2 space mission on May 29, taking country’s expanding planetary exploration program to its next step.

According to the China National Space Administration (CNSA), the mission will lift off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China using a Long March 3B rocket, which is currently being loaded with propellant. The Tianwen-2 probe and its carrier rocket have completed all necessary technical and mechanical preparations, including assembly, testing, fueling, and integration checks. CNSA stated that each element of the mission has passed inspection and joint systems rehearsals.

The Long March 3B rocket has been fully assembled at the launch site and integrated with the probe inside its protective fairing. Final inspections and control checks have been completed by CNSA’s teams at multiple facilities, including the Beijing Flight Control Center and tracking stations in Xi’an and aboard the Yuanwang measurement ships. These assets provide communication and navigation support during launch and early flight.

According to CNSA, the Tianwen-2 spacecraft was transferred to the launch pad after a series of functional verifications. Engineers completed full system rehearsals to ensure mission readiness. These rehearsals simulate the countdown and flight sequence and verify coordination among all ground systems and tracking stations.

Tianwen-2 is the second in China’s series of deep space exploration missions and follows the successful Tianwen-1, which reached Mars in 2021.

As previously reported by Space Insider, China’s Tianwen-2 mission aims to retrieve material from a near-Earth asteroid and study a distant comet, marking a major step in the country’s planetary exploration efforts. The spacecraft will first target asteroid 469219 Kamoʻoalewa, a small object that follows a stable orbit near Earth and may be a fragment of the Moon. Using both touch-and-go and anchor-based techniques, Tianwen-2 will collect surface samples and return them to Earth for analysis.

After completing its sample return, the mission will continue toward comet 311P/PANSTARRS, located in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Known for its multiple dust tails, the comet offers a rare opportunity to study volatile-rich materials that may contain clues about the early solar system and the origins of water and organic compounds on Earth. This second phase of the mission is designed for remote observation rather than sample collection.

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