China has selected a Russian science payload to accompany its upcoming near-Earth asteroid sampling mission. Visiting a comet moving in the main belt will also be discussed later.
After Japan and the United States, China is also aiming to collect samples from an asteroid. This ambitious mission, to be launched around 2024, will target a small near-Earth Earth cruiser named Kamo'oalewa (OU 2016H03). The probe will then return to Earth to deliver its samples, before relying on our planet's gravity to head towards the main asteroid belt. Its second target will be a comet, named 133P/Elst – Pizarro .
For this mission, the Chinese vessel, tentatively named ZhengHe after a famous Chinese naval explorer from the early 1400s, will carry a range of imaging, multispectral and spectrometric cameras as well as a radar, magnetometer and payloads to detect a range of particles.
We have known for a few days that Russia will offer several of these instruments built by the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The China National Space Administration (CNSA) launched a call for proposals two years ago for this major mission.
In addition to its sampling capsule, ZhengHe will also carry a nano-orbiter and a nano-lander for remote sensing and field exploration of Comet 133P. The spacecraft will use an explosive to expose the comet's subsoil before attempting a landing. Once there, instruments will study the composition of the object’s subsoil, with particular interest in water and birds .
China and Russia have a long history of cooperation in the field of spaceflight which dates back to the 1950s when the Soviet Union supported the early development of Chinese rockets.
More recently, in March, the heads of the Chinese and Russian space agencies signed an agreement to build a research station on the Moon. This complex of facilities will be designed to conduct multidisciplinary and versatile research related to the exploration and exploitation of our satellite. The objective will be to establish long-term facilities at the south pole level animated by robotic systems while being able to support a human presence if necessary.
Finally, let's remember that the Chinese station "Tiangong" (Heavenly Palace) will soon succeed the ISS in orbit . On board, taikonauts (Chinese astronauts) will conduct various scientific experiments and prepare for future long-duration missions. We know that foreign astronauts will also be able to join the station. Russia, which will not participate in the development of NASA's future station in lunar orbit, could therefore send several of these cosmonauts on board.
