China has selected a Russian scientific payload for its upcoming near-Earth asteroid sampling mission, with plans to discuss a main-belt comet visit.
Following Japan and the United States, China is gearing up to collect asteroid samples. This bold mission, slated for launch around 2024, targets the near-Earth asteroid Kamo'oalewa (2016 HO3). The probe will return samples to Earth before using our planet's gravity to venture into the main asteroid belt, where its second objective is the comet 133P/Elst-Pizarro.
The Chinese spacecraft, provisionally named ZhengHe after the famed 15th-century explorer Zheng He, will feature advanced imaging, multispectral and spectrometric cameras, radar, a magnetometer, and particle detection instruments.
Recently, Russia committed to providing several of these instruments, developed by the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The China National Space Administration (CNSA) issued a call for proposals two years ago for this landmark mission.
Alongside its sampling capsule, ZhengHe will deploy a nano-orbiter and nano-lander for remote sensing and surface analysis of Comet 133P. The spacecraft will use an explosive charge to expose subsurface material before landing, allowing instruments to analyze the object's composition, focusing on water and organic materials.
China and Russia share a rich history of space collaboration dating back to the 1950s, when the Soviet Union aided China's early rocket programs.
In March, leaders from both nations' space agencies signed a pact to build a lunar research station. This facility will enable multidisciplinary studies for lunar exploration and utilization, featuring robotic systems at the south pole and provisions for human presence.
Meanwhile, China's Tiangong space station ("Heavenly Palace") is poised to continue low-Earth orbit research as the ISS retires. Taikonauts aboard will perform experiments and train for deep-space missions, with opportunities for international astronauts—including potentially Russian cosmonauts, as Russia opts out of NASA's lunar Gateway.
