The China National Space Administration has set its sights on the Jovian system, initiating concrete preparations for the Tianwen 4 interplanetary expedition to orbit Jupiter and survey its second-largest moon, Callisto, China Daily reported on Friday.
To prepare for the journey, the administration’s Lunar Exploration and Space Engineering Center began soliciting research and development proposals on Friday for the mission’s scientific hardware. The Tianwen 4 spacecraft will carry 12 scientific payloads split between an orbiter and a lander.
The orbiter will deploy 10 payloads dedicated to two core research areas. Space environment detection instruments will examine Jupiter’s multiband auroras, the interaction between its vast magnetosphere and solar wind, and how solar particles spread across the outer solar system. Meanwhile, remote sensing apparatuses will map Callisto’s terrain, analyze surface composition, and detect radioactive elements.
Callisto Lander Payloads
The Callisto-bound lander will carry two in-situ measurement instruments to study the moon up close. A surface composition analyzer will identify materials at the landing site via Raman spectroscopy, while a surface magnetometer will take on-site magnetic readings.
Combined with orbital data, the surface magnetometer will help separate ionospheric and interior magnetic signals. This dual-point measurement will provide key insights into Callisto’s internal structure and its potential subsurface ocean, according to the center.
Mission planners are opening the program to international collaboration. The center announced that it encourages overseas institutes to join programs led by Chinese organizations or submit their own independent proposals.
Tianwen 4 Launches in 2029 via Long March 5
The Tianwen 4 probe is scheduled to launch around 2029 aboard a Long March 5 heavy-lift carrier rocket from the Wenchang Space Launch Center in Hainan province, according to information previously published by Chinese space mission planners.
“While Jupiter, the largest planet of our solar system, has been known since ancient times, the first detailed observations of it were made by Galileo Galilei in 1610 with a small telescope,” Zhang Rongqiao, a top mission planner at the CNSA, told China Daily, adding that humankind still lacks comprehensive knowledge of the Jovian system and has performed only a handful of exploration operations, leaving the gas giant full of opportunities for science and discovery.
The first spacecraft to visit Jupiter was the United States’ Pioneer 10 in 1973. Several passing probes and orbiters have visited the planet since then.
The most recent Jovian mission was launched by NASA in October 2024. That spacecraft, named Europa Clipper, is traveling 2.9 billion kilometers to reach Jupiter in April 2030 to conduct a detailed study of Europa, Jupiter’s icy moon.
