China successfully launched the asteroid probe Tianwen-2

According to the China National Space Administration, the Long March-3B rocket and the Tianwen-2 spacecraft lifted off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan Province, southwest China.

On the morning of May 29, China successfully launched the Tianwen-2 asteroid probe into space to shed light on the formation and development of asteroids and the early solar system.

According to the China National Space Administration (CNSA), at around 1:30 a.m., the Long March-3B rocket and the Tianwen-2 spacecraft lifted off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan Province, southwest of the country.

About 18 minutes later, the probe was placed into a transition orbit from Earth to asteroid 2016HO3. After the spacecraft deployed its solar panels, CNSA declared the launch a success.

The Tianwen-2 mission aims to collect samples from asteroid 2016HO3 on a 10-year journey. If successful, these will be the first samples China has collected from interplanetary space.

After completing its mission, the spacecraft is expected to continue its journey to explore a comet in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.

According to CNSA head Shan Zhongde, the Tianwen-2 mission marks an important step in China's new interplanetary exploration journey.

Despite the long mission time and significant risks, he expressed hope that it would achieve breakthroughs and expand humanity's knowledge of the universe.

Asteroid 2016HO3, about 40-100m in diameter - was first discovered by the Pan-STARRS asteroid research telescope in Hawaii, USA in April 2016.

According to NASA, the asteroid orbits the Sun in an elliptical path similar to Earth's orbit. Asteroid 2016HO3 also orbits Earth as a "quasi-satellite."

In 2021, the unmanned spacecraft Tianwen-1 landed on Mars, making China the second country to have a probe successfully land on the planet's surface, after the US./.

(Vietnam News Agency/Vietnam+)

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/trung-quoc-phong-thanh-cong-tau-tham-do-tieu-hanh-tinh-thien-van-2-post1041352.vnp