Long March 3B/E | Tianwen-2

Launch Provider & Rocket

• Provider: China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (Government)
• Rocket: Long March 3B/E — Long March family

Mission

Tianwen-2 is a planned Chinese asteroid sample return and comet orbiter mission due for launch in May 2025. The spacecraft will visit the Near Earth asteroid 469219 Kamoʻoalewa (2016 HO3), collecting samples from its surface using both touch-and-go and anchor-and-drill approaches. It will return the samples back to Earth around 2.5 years after launch, with the main spacecraft proceeding to visit the main-belt comet 311P/PANSTARRS in the mid-2030s.

• Type: Planetary Science
• Orbit: Asteroid (Asteroid)

Launch Site

• Pad: Launch Complex 2 (LC-2)
• Location: Xichang Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China
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