On September 26, 2024, China announced its upcoming Tianwen-2 mission, aimed at collecting samples from the asteroid Kamo'oalewa, a potential fragment of the Moon. This mission follows China's successful lunar sample returns and is set to launch in 2025 aboard a Long March 3B rocket.
The Tianwen-2 mission will employ both proven techniques, like the Touch-and-Go method used by previous missions, and new methods such as Anchor-and-Attach. After sample collection, the spacecraft will continue to the comet 311P/PANSTARRS, enhancing our understanding of solar system formation and the origins of life on Earth.
With a sample recovery phase lasting approximately two and a half years, the mission underscores China's growing capabilities in space exploration, potentially positioning it ahead of NASA's Mars Sample Return mission.