In the previous couple of weeks, China has not only conducted several launches — of which one failed — but in addition detailed its Solar System exploration plans for the following decade, with updated details and goal dates for several missions.
Chinese Long-Term Solar Exploration Plan
On the 74th International Astronautical Congress, China revealed an updated roadmap for its lunar and deep space exploration missions over the following seven years. The important focus was the sixth, seventh, and eighth missions of the Chang’e lunar exploration program.
Chang’e 6 might be China’s second robotic sample return mission to the moon, which is currently slated for 2024. Over the course of a planned 53-day mission duration, it’s going to aim to acquire soil and rock samples from the far side of the Moon and return them to Earth. It is anticipated to return about two kilograms of samples, from about two meters below the surface. The mission may even carry French, Italian, Swedish, and Pakistani secondary payloads, as much as 10 kilograms in mass.
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China’s Roadmap of Lunar and Deep Space Exploration. (Credit: CASC)
For Chang’e 7, China’s focus will return to the Moon’s south pole. The mission, planned for 2026, will study the surface environment and seek for water ice in its soil. Other objectives include studying the magnetic field and thermal characteristics across the pole.
The ultimate Chang’e mission that China discussed on the conference is Chang’e 8, which is able to test in-situ resource generation for the upcoming International Lunar Research Station. That is currently expected to launch in 2028 aboard a Chang Zheng 5 rocket. Secondary goals for the mission include researching enclosed mini-terrestrial ecosystems on the lunar surface.
To support these missions, China may even launch the Queqiao-2 (Magpie-2) relay satellite. This 1,200-kilogram spacecraft might be launched aboard a Chang Zheng 8 rocket and encompasses a parabolic antenna for cislunar communication. It is anticipated to operate in an elliptical orbit across the moon for at the very least eight years. The relay might be needed for Chang’e 7 and eight to transmit data back to Earth from the far side of the Moon.
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The Chang Zheng 5 rocket will serve because the backbone of China’s Solar System exploration plans. (Credit: CASC)
The unique Queqiao-1 satellite was launched in 2018 and remains to be in place on the Earth-Moon L2 Lagrangian point. It has already supported several previous exploration missions and continues to operate.
While the Chang’e program is targeted on the Moon, Tianwen missions, explore other bodies within the solar system. The Tianwen-2, 3, and 4 missions were also detailed within the presentation.
Tianwen-2 will launch on a Chang Zheng 3B in March 2025 to explore the near-Earth asteroid 469219 Kamoʻoalewa. After carrying out initial remote-sensing observations, it’s going to collect a sample of 100g of regolith and it to the Earth. The spacecraft will then turn its attention to 311P/PanSTARRS, a comet-like asteroid, which it’s going to reach in 2034.
Tianwen-3 might be a sample return mission to Mars. The mission would require two Chang Zheng 5 launches, the primary of which is scheduled for 2028. The sample return is planned for July 2031.
The last mission that was detailed on the conference was Tianwen-4, which is able to explore Jupiter and the Jovian system. The launch, which may even be conducted by a Chang Zheng 5, is planned for October 2029, with an arrival at Jupiter in 2035, following gravity-assist flybys of Earth and Venus.
Upcoming Tiangong Season
October will see the beginning of the following crew rotation for the Tiangong Space Station, with Shenzhou 17 planned to launch aboard a Chang Zheng 2F with a brand new Commander, Operator, and System Operator for the Space Station.
The spacecraft has already been stored on the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center (JSLC) since April 2023, on standby to function a lifeboat for the Station’s current crew in case of a major problem with the Station itself or their Shenzhou 16 vehicle.
Shortly after Shenzhou 17’s docking, the Shenzhou 16 crew will start to organize for his or her departure, ending a stay that began in May. Their mission included a spacewalk which was carried out in July, during which they performed various tasks, including installing a support frame for a panoramic camera outside the core module.
Autumn Launches and Gushenxing-1 Failure
The Gushenxing-1 (Ceres-1) rocket was launched from JSLC on its tenth mission at 04:59 UTC on Sept. 21, to deploy the Jilin-1 Gaofen-04B payload, but this was declared a failure.
From footage showing the launch from the bottom, it looks just like the failure happened during first stage flight. After liftoff, there was a break within the exhaust, where the exhaust turned orange before the vehicle exploded. All of this means some propulsion problems for the vehicle, which was then destroyed either by aerodynamic forces or a flight termination system.
This allegedly is from yesterday’s failed Ceres-1 launch; looks like the failure came early during 1st stage flight. Something definitely blew and then either FTS reacted, or it simply disintegrates.
Rumors has that the sat has up to 0.3 m resolution…https://t.co/Qz7dNIo5SM pic.twitter.com/qNqH05CLHe
— Cosmic Penguin (@Cosmic_Penguin) September 22, 2023
Gushenxing-1 is a launcher constructed by the private spaceflight company Galactic Energy. It’s a four-stage rocket, with three solid-propellant stages and a final stage fueled by hydrazine for orbital insertion. Gushenxing-1 can lift payloads of as much as 400 kilograms into low-Earth orbit.
The Gushenxing-1 launch was one among five that China has carried out over the previous couple of weeks. Most of those missions carried classified military reconnaissance satellites which have been given names within the Yaogen series.
On Sept. 17, at 04:13 UTC, a Chang Zheng 2D was launched from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center (XSLC) in China. The rocket carried a gaggle of three satellites designated Yaogan 39 Group 02, which China has attributed to the aim of distant sensing.
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Liftoff of a Chang Zheng 2D. (Credit: CASC)
An extra group of three satellites, Yaogan 39 Group 03, was also launched aboard a Chang Zheng 2D at 00:24 UTC on Oct. 5. This launch also took place from Xichang and was declared successful.
One other Yaogan mission, Yaogan 33-04, was successfully launched from JSLC on a Chang Zheng 4C. Liftoff occurred on Sept. 26 at 20:15 UTC. The satellite was constructed by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, with its stated purposes being scientific experimental research, marine, and land resource census, agricultural product production estimation, disaster prevention and reduction, and other fields. This can be a generic placeholder that China often uses when it doesn’t wish to disclose specific details of a satellite’s mission.
China’s most up-to-date launch occurred at 00:54 UTC on Oct. 15. This was carried out by one other Chang Zheng 2D flight from Jiuquan, with the Yunhai-1 04 payload. This satellite might be used for research into the atmosphere, marine and space environments, disaster prevention and mitigation, and scientific experiments.