CHINA LAUNCHES TIANWEN-2 ASTEROID SAMPLE RETURN MISSION, May 28, 2025 ET, Xichang, China, 1:22-1:44 pm ET? (May 29, 1:22-1:44 am? in China)

Update, May 26:  China has confirmed the launch date is May 29 Beijing Time, but not the launch time.

Original Entry: China will launch its first asteroid sample-return mission, Tianwen-2, at the end of May 2025.

China has not officially announced a launch date, but it is expected on May 29, 2025 between 1:22-1:44 am Beijing Time, which is May 28, 1:22-1:44 pm Eastern Daylight Time, from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center.

China’s CGTN (available on YouTube) often provides live coverage of high profile launches, but it’s not clear if this will be one of them.

Tianwen-2 will collect samples from asteroid 469219 Kamoʻoalewa (2016 HO3), about 4.6 million kilometers from Earth.  The sample return portion of the spacecraft is expected to return them to Earth in November 2027 while the main spacecraft continues on to study comet 311P/PANSTARRS. It is expected to reach the comet in 2035.

Space reporter Andrew Jones, who closely follows the Chinese space program, provided more information in an article he wrote for Space News.  He separately posted this tentative mission schedule on X (dates reflect Chinese time):

Tianwen-2 unverified mission timeline:
???? Launch: May 29, 2025
????️ Arrival at asteroid Kamoʻoalewa: July 4, 2026
???? Departure: April 24, 2027
???? Reentry capsule landing: Nov. 29, 2027
☄️Arrival at comet 311P: Jan. 24, 2035
Source: https://t.co/33QdLCmldm pic.twitter.com/JzF1DZr6dM

— Andrew Jones (@AJ_FI) April 11, 2025

China’s Xinhua state news agency published an article in February where Yan Wei, a senior engineer at China’s National Astronomical Observatories in the Chinese Academy of Sciences, explained why the two celestial bodies are of interest.