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Launch Success
Liftoff Time (GMT)
17:31:00
Wednesday May 28, 2025
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First Chinese mission to return asteroid samples.
The Tianwen 2 near-Earth asteroid sample return mission, previously named "Zheng He" after the 15th-century naval explorer and admiral, will target near-Earth asteroid 469219 Kamoʻoalewa (2016 HO3), collecting about 1000 grams of samples from its surface using both touch-and-go and anchor-and-drill approaches. The samples will be returned to Earth about 2.5 years of launch. The main spacecraft will continue its mission after delivering the samples. It will use the visit to Earth for a gravity assist to set it on a course for the main belt comet 311P/PANSTARRS, arriving around seven years later.
Heliocentric Orbit
1 Payload
Agency
CASCPrice
$29.15 million
Rocket
Height: 56.3m
Payload to Orbit
LEO: 11,500 kg
GTO: 5,550 kg
Liftoff Thrust
5,986 Kilonewtons
Fairing
Diameter: 4.2m
Height: 9.56m
Stages
3
Strap-ons
4
NE
SE
Launching
East
168th
Mission
9th
Mission of 2025
117th
Orbital launch attempt