The China National Space Administration's (CNSA) Tianwen-2 probe is currently at a distance of about 43 million km (26.7 million mi) from Earth. This places it in a stable geosynchronous orbit (GSO) and almost halfway between its first destination, the Near Earth Asteroid (NEA) 469219 Kamo'oalewa, which is still 45 million km (~28 million mi) away. As is customary for interplanetary missions, its controllers are using the flight phase to test the spacecraft's instruments and make sure they are in working order.
However, this latest "selfie" portrait (taken on October 1st) was also timed to coincide with China's National Day celebrations. The image features the country's Five-Starred Red Flag, the white return capsule, and the distant blue Earth all in the same frame. The image was taken by the probe's monitoring camera mounted on its robotic arm. Previously, the mission captured a "lookback at Earth" picture (taken on May 30th) using its Narrow Field of View Navigation Sensor to test its functionality.
Tianwen-2 mission launched on May 28th from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China. This will be China's first asteroid sample-return mission, which will then rendezvous with, orbit, and land on the Main Belt comet 311P/PANSTARRS. The probe is scheduled to arrive around 469219 Kamo'oalewa on June 7th, 2026, where it will obtain 100 grams (0.2 lbs) of material that will be launched back to Earth using the return capsule.
The probe will depart from this NEA by April 2026, and perform a gravity assist maneuver with Earth to propel itself towards the Main Asteroid Belt, where it will rendezvous with 311P/PANSTARRS in January 2035. Once there, the probe is expected to conduct sensing and in-situ measurements for at least one year. This mission is yet another demonstration of China's growing presence in space and its ability to carry out interplanetary missions. The Tianwen-2 probe will also set a new record for China, surpassing the Tianwen-1 probe that previously held the record for reaching Mars in February 2021.
According to the CNSA and Chinese state media, Tianwen-2 has been in orbit now for 131 days and is operating smoothly. The probe has completed several instrument and system checks, including a deployment test of the equipment used to obtain samples, and the mission team has managed to gather considerable scientific data about the near-Earth space environment.
Further Reading: CGTN