Syllabus:

GS3: Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, Robotics, Nano-technology, Bio-technology and issues relating to Intellectual Property Rights.

Context: 

China successfully launched its first asteroid sample-return mission, Tianwen-2, in the early hours of May 29, marking a significant stride in the country’s quest to uncover the secrets of the solar system’s origins.

More on the news:

• The probe is expected to reach the asteroid after a year of deep-space travel, mid-course corrections, and precise maneuvers. 
• Once within 30,000 kilometers of its target, the spacecraft will enter a complex phase of circling and hovering to identify the optimal sampling site.
• If successful, the mission will place China in a group of a handful of countries including the United States and Japan which have been able to sample asteroids and return the samples to Earth successfully.

Tianwen-2 Mission 

• It will first target the near-Earth asteroid 2016H03 (Kamoʻoalewa), a quasi-satellite of Earth.
• To collect the samples from Kamo‘oalewa, the Tianwen-2 mission will use a “touch-and-go” technique which has been successfully implemented by the United States’ OSIRIS-Rex and Japan’s Hayabusa2 missions.
• In this technique, the spacecraft hovers close to the surface of the asteroid while a robotic arm fires an object or burst of gas to knock fragments into a collection chamber.

• Depending on the surface conditions, the Tianwen-2 probe might also use a second “anchor and attach” technique, where four robotic arms extend and drill into the surface to retrieve material.
• After securing a sample, the spacecraft will return the material to Earth by the end of 2027, using a detachable capsule for reentry. 
• Following that, the main probe will venture even farther into space to investigate the enigmatic main-belt comet 311P, located between Mars and Jupiter. 
• This dual-phase mission underscores China’s growing capabilities in space science and high-risk, long-duration autonomous missions.