Just two weeks after its launch, Chinese officials unveiled the first image of the nation’s highly classified Tianwen 2 spacecraft. This elusive probe, intriguingly reminiscent of current NASA spacecraft, aims to gather samples from one of Earth’s enigmatic “quasi-lakes” next year.
On May 29th, the Tianwen 2 probe was successfully launched into space using a Long March 3B rocket. As reported earlier.
The spacecraft targets asteroid 2016 HO3, known as Camooarewa, with plans to gather samples by July 2026. This Ferris wheel-sized space lock will then return the samples to Earth. In Hawaiian, Camooarewa translates to “Vibrating Heavenly Objects” and represents a semi-satellite of Earth, sharing the Sun’s orbit but not gravitationally bound, and thus floats independently.
Information about the Tianwen 2 mission is closely guarded. The launch was not broadcast live by the National Space Agency of China (CNSA), and up until this point, no images had emerged of the probe—details of its appearance were derived from a few basic artistic renderings. Post-launch, Space.com issued a statement after the launch.
On June 6th, CNSA shared a statement indicating that the probe is functioning as planned and is currently about 1.9 million miles (3 million kilometers) away from Earth. The statement also included the first image of one of the ten solar panels on the probe extended in space.
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Recent images indicate that the Tianwen 2 probe may closely resemble NASA’s Lucy Mission, which also showcases decagonal solar panels and currently explores “Trojan asteroids” around Jupiter. This design contrasts sharply with the Tianwen 1, which carried the Zhurong Mars Rover to the red planet in 2021 and featured rectangular solar panels. (Tianwen translates roughly to “Question to Heaven.”)
If Tianwen 2 successfully visits Kamo'oalewa and collects its targeted samples, the mission plans to bring asteroid fragments back to Earth during a close approach in late 2027, with a landing in the Utah desert expected in September 2023.
Following this, the spacecraft will embark on a secondary mission to explore 311P/Panstarrs, a comet-asteroid hybrid located in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter around 2035.
Quasi-Moon
Kamo'oalewa measures between 130 and 330 feet (40 to 100 meters) in width and is located about 2.9 million miles (4.6 million kilometers) from Earth. It completes an orbit around our planet every 45 years, believed to be a remnant of the Moon formed during a meteor impact millions of years ago.
Currently, Earth has six other quasi-moons, all of which orbit the Sun alongside our planets but remain loosely associated with us. These space rocks are often referred to as “minimoons,” but the term typically describes objects that temporarily share a closer orbit with Earth, usually for short durations.
One notable mini-moon was Asteroid 2024 PT5, discovered in September 2024, which orbited Earth for about three months.
Astronomers believe there are likely more quasi-moons waiting to be identified around Earth. Recent studies also indicate the potential existence of a similar “quasi-moon” orbiting Venus, which, if impacted by our planet’s gravity, could pose a future threat to Earth.
Source: www.livescience.com