Ground scientific verification tests for Tianwen-2 payload
Abstract
<p indent="0mm">This article provides a detailed introduction to the ground scientific validation tests for the payloads of China’s first asteroid exploration mission (Tianwen-2). The Tianwen-2 mission is scheduled to be launched in 2025 to conduct scientific exploration and sample return of the near-Earth asteroid 2016 HO<sub>3</sub>, as well as a scientific exploration of the main belt comet 311P. To ensure that the mission can achieve its predetermined scientific objectives, the ground scientific verification tests were conducted during the engineering prototype phase of the mission. The tests focused on the comprehensive, systematic, and rigorous verification and evaluation of the scientific exploration capabilities and the authenticity of the exploration data of nine payloads in four main categories: optical imaging, spectral detection, space environment detection, and internal structure detection. The test content includes assessing the payload’s ability to perform scientific exploration tasks, verifying in-orbit workflow, evaluating data quality, and validating the effectiveness of data processing procedures. The test results show that all payloads involved in the verification have met the predetermined test objectives, exhibit good scientific exploration capabilities, and can provide effective and reliable measurement data to achieve the mission’s scientific objectives.</p>
