24/7 Space News
DRAGON SPACE
China plans robotic spacecraft to collect samples from asteroid
2016 HO3, also known as 469219 Kamo'oalewa, was first spotted in April 2016 by an asteroid survey telescope at the Haleakala Observatory in Hawaii.
Reuters Events SMR and Advanced Reactor 2025
China plans robotic spacecraft to collect samples from asteroid
by Staff Writers
Beijing (XNA) Mar 06, 2023

The Chinese government has approved a plan to send a robotic spacecraft to collect samples from an asteroid, according to the China National Space Administration's Lunar Exploration and Space Program Center.

The mission, called Tianwen 2, is designed to launch a probe to obtain samples from the 2016 HO3, the smallest and closest "quasi-satellite" to Earth, and bring them back. After accomplishing this goal, the main part of the craft will continue to fly toward a main-belt comet to explore it, the center said on Thursday in a notice inviting scientists to a workshop on this mission.

The workshop is scheduled to take place in Hefei, Anhui province, on April 27 and 28 and will be open to researchers from the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions, and Taiwan.

Main topics will include the Tianwen 2's basic plan, scientific goals, mission payloads, operational patterns as well as updates on asteroid studies, the center noted.

According to Ye Peijian, a leading spacecraft researcher at the China Academy of Space Technology, the asteroid mission's basic idea is to use a large carrier rocket to send a probe consisting of two parts - an orbiter and a reentry module - toward the 2016 HO3. After approaching the asteroid, the spacecraft will first orbit around the small body and then fly very close to it to use a mechanical arm to scoop dusts from its surface. Carrying the samples, the probe will fly back to Earth orbit and release its reentry module, allowing it to fall back to the ground with the samples.

The orbiter will then travel toward a main-belt comet named 311P to continue its scientific exploration tasks, he said.

Scientists have identified about 1 million asteroids in our solar system, with more than 20,000 of them traveling near Earth.

2016 HO3, also known as 469219 Kamo'oalewa, was first spotted in April 2016 by an asteroid survey telescope at the Haleakala Observatory in Hawaii.

The celestial body travels in an orbit around the sun that makes it a constant companion of Earth. It is too distant to be considered a true satellite of Earth, but it is the best and most stable example to date of a near-Earth companion, or quasi-satellite, experts from NASA have said.

The Tianwen 1 mission, China's first independent interplanetary exploration, traveled more than 470 million kilometers and then succeeded to deploy a rover named Zhurong on Mars in May 2021. The rover has so far traveled nearly 2,000 meters on the Red Planet and collected a great deal of raw data.

Source: Xinhua News Agency

Related Links
Lunar Exploration and Space Program
The Chinese Space Program - News, Policy and Technology
China News from SinoDaily.com

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters
Tweet

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
DRAGON SPACE
China's space station experiments pave way for new space technology
Beijing (XNA) Feb 16, 2023
Multiple engineering experiments are currently underway, or poised to begin, at a cabinet on China's space station which is in a near-Earth orbit. These experiments aim to acquire know-how that can support more experimental possibilities and human survival in outer space. The Space Basic Experiment Cabinet mounted on the country's space lab module Mengtian is carrying its first group of five experiments on space technology, figuring out how to resist microbes that may eat away spacecraft metals, p ... read more

DRAGON SPACE
DLR goes all in with new technology at the Startup Factory

SpaceX Dragon crew enter International Space Station

NASA awards Unit Price Agreement Tracking System

Global patent filings edge higher in 2022: UN

DRAGON SPACE
SpaceX CRS-27 delivers truck load of research projects to ISS

Japan's new H3 rocket fails during maiden flight

Rocket Lab announces launch window for second Electron Mission from Virginia

Virgin Galactic to renew Spaceplane Flights

DRAGON SPACE
SAM Wants More Sample: Sol 3762

NASA's Curiosity Views First 'Sun Rays' on Mars

Layering history shows how water and carbon dioxide have moved across Mars

Solid-gas carbonate formation during dust events on Mars

DRAGON SPACE
China conducts ignition test in Mengtian space lab module

China plans robotic spacecraft to collect samples from asteroid

Shenzhou XV crew takes second spacewalk

China's space station experiments pave way for new space technology

DRAGON SPACE
Radio interference from satellites is threatening astronomy but there are solutions

Sure South Atlantic picks Intelsat to connect three British Island Territories

Globalstar to Deliver 5G Private Networks and Services Powered by Qualcomm 5G RAN Platforms

AST SpaceMobile Announces Teaming Agreement with Fairwinds Technologies

DRAGON SPACE
NASA gathering tools to assess damage, verify parts made in space

NASA seeks commercial near space network services

Lockheed Martin teams with Korea Aerospace and Red 6 for Emerging Technology Partnership

Is biodegradable better? Making sense of 'compostable' plastics

DRAGON SPACE
Can artificial intelligence help find life on Mars or icy worlds?

Humanity's quest to discover the origins of life

Removing traces of life in lab helps NASA scientists study its origins

To new worlds with quantitative spectroscopy

DRAGON SPACE
First the Moon, now Jupiter

Newly discovered form of salty ice could exist on surface of extraterrestrial moons

New aurorae detected on Jupiter's four largest moons

JUICE's final take-off before lift-off

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.