China examines Uranus and Jupiter with two spacecraft on one rocket

China plans to launch an ambitious bilateral flight with a single missile to other planets, Ace client And Uranus around 2030, the mission will be called Tianwen 4 and will see a larger probe dedicated to Jupiter and a smaller spacecraft circling the distant planet Uranus.

According to the “Space” website, the couple will launch a long rocket on March 5, and China previously indicated that it is in the planning stages of the Jupiter mission, but new details were provided by Wang Qiong from lunar and space exploration. Engineering Center. From the China National Space Administration (CNSA) at the 2022 International Astronautical Congress in Paris.

The main spacecraft will also be dedicated to exploring the Jupiter system and will eventually enter orbit around Callisto to conduct a detailed investigation of the outer dimensions of the Galilean moons.

A smaller spacecraft, which will have a mass of regarding a few hundred kilograms, according to Wang, will make a longer trip to Uranus.

“Scientific targets are still being studied,” Wang said, and previous presentations had indicated that China was considering focusing on Callisto as a major target that might reveal much regarding the Moon and the history of Jupiter’s system, or to investigate Jupiter’s irregular moons. It might provide insight into the early days of the solar system itself.

The CNSA previously considered a lander as part of a mission profile focused on Callista, but Wang says the latter concept includes an orbiter but not a lander.

The mission is part of China’s expanded program to explore the solar system, named Tian Wen following the poem “Questions from Heaven” attributed to the ancient Chinese poet Qu Yuan, born regarding 2,300 years ago.

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