19-Nov-2025
System modeling and simulation of TianWen-2 sampling on an asteroid regolith surface
Beijing Institute of Technology Press Co., Ltd
The China National Space Administration plans to launch the asteroid sample-return mission TianWen-2 with the target being the near-Earth asteroid 2016 HO3. The TianWen-2 spacecraft mainly focuses on surface sampling on the near-Earth asteroid 2016 HO3. the whole TianWen-2 spacecraft will be controlled to achieve touchdown and sampling rather than releasing a small lander or ejecting a projectile. Small celestial bodies usually have an extremely low surface gravity and are covered with granular material a centimeter in size or smaller in the form of regolith. The dispersion, friction, and nonlinear dissipation of inelastic collision between particles make a regolith surface behave like a solid or a fluid at the macroscopic level, exhibiting phenomena such as deformation, flow, and ejection. Thus, sampling on a low-gravity regolith-covered surface with unknown physical properties is particularly challenging and risky. In order to successfully implement an in situ exploration, it is of great significance to analyze the influence of regolith soil on the sampling process of the spacecraft on the surface of the asteroid and comprehensively understand and evaluate spacecraft dynamics and control behavior during sampling.