This Chinese Spacecraft Is Traveling to One of Earth’s Quasi-Moons

The China National Space Administration has shared nan first image from its Tianwen-2 probe, which is en way to Kamo‘oalewa, a near-Earth asteroid.

The image was captured by a camera onboard nan probe, which is presently much than 3 cardinal kilometers from Earth, and shows 1 of its wings pinch its star panels deployed. It is besides nan first glimpse nan CNSA has offered of its abstraction probe, which launched connected May 29 connected a Long March 3B rocket from nan Xichang Satellite Launch Center successful Zeyuan Town, China. The creation of Tianwen-2’s panels is akin successful quality to those connected Lucy, NASA’s abstraction probe that is exploring asteroids floating adjacent Jupiter. These service to meet nan powerfulness demands required for nan trip.

Tianwen-2’s ngo is to onshore connected nan aboveground of Kamo‘oalewa, cod samples, and return to Earth. The spacecraft is scheduled to onshore connected nan asteroid’s aboveground successful July 2026. Before then, it will walk respective months studying Kamo‘oalewa from a safe distance, to find its sampling area, earlier proceeding pinch landing maneuvers, a peculiarly difficult task fixed nan asteroid’s debased gravity.

Once nan samples person been collected, Tianwen-2 will recreation backmost to Earth and nonstop its samples down to nan aboveground successful a capsule, earlier past attempting to usage Earth’s gravity arsenic a slingshot to caput toward 311P/PanSTARRS, an unusual-looking asteroid beyond Mars that has immoderate of nan characteristics of a comet, including visible tails. Tianwen-2 is expected to behaviour this ngo until 2035.

The Enigma of nan Hawaiian Quasi-Moon

Kamo‘oalewa is 1 of Earth’s 7 known quasi-moons—objects that look to beryllium orbiting our planet, but which aren’t really gravitationally bound to Earth, and are really asteroids circling nan sun successful an orbit akin to Earth’s.

Discovered successful 2016 by astronomers astatine nan Haleakala Observatory successful Hawaii, Kamo‘oalewa—whose sanction intends “oscillating celestial object” successful Hawaiian—is located astir 4.65 cardinal kilometers from our planet, 12 times further distant from Earth than nan moon. Kamo‘oalewa is estimated to beryllium astir 40 to 100 meters successful diameter, has maintained its existent orbit for 100 years, and will astir apt support it for 300 more.

It’s hoped that Tianwen-2 tin lick nan enigma of Kamo‘oalewa’s origin. One theory is that it’s a chunk of stone that collapsed disconnected from nan satellite millions of years ago. The sampling ngo will thief aggregate technological investigations into nan creation of rocky celestial bodies, arsenic good arsenic assistance scientists successful nan hunt for clues astir nan statement of nan star system.

Observational grounds and modeling propose that Kamo‘oalewa has been orbiting nan sun for millions of years, albeit pinch an unstable trajectory. A nonstop exploration of this asteroid could, successful addition, grow knowledge astir adjacent celestial objects that mightiness perchance airs a threat to Earth.

This communicative primitively appeared on WIRED en Español and has been translated from Spanish.