China's Tianwen 2 asteroid sampling spacecraft has been on its interplanetary itinerary for more than 33 days, orbiting at a distance of over 12 million kilometers from Earth, and it is in good working condition, the China National Space Administration said on Tuesday. 

中国国家航天局周二表示，中国 “天问二号” 小行星采样探测器已在星际旅程中飞行超过 33 天，目前距离地球超过 1200 万公里，工作状态良好。 

The robotic probe is currently traveling on a transfer trajectory toward its destination, a near-Earth asteroid called 2016 HO3, the space administration said in a news release. 

国家航天局在新闻发布会上称，这台机器人探测器目前正沿着转移轨道飞向其目标 —— 一颗名为 2016 HO3 的近地小行星。

 The CNSA also released two images, showing Earth and the moon, captured by the spacecraft's narrow-field-of-view navigation sensor when it was about 590,000 km away from Earth. 

中国国家航天局还发布了两张地球和月球的图像，这些图像是探测器在距离地球约 59 万公里时，由其窄视场导航传感器拍摄的。 

The Tianwen 2 mission, which is China's first attempt to bring pristine asteroid samples back to Earth, was launched on May 29, when a Long March 3B rocket carrying the robotic probe blasted off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan province. 

“天问二号” 任务是中国首次尝试将原始小行星样本带回地球，该探测器于 5 月 29 日由长征三号乙运载火箭搭载，从四川西昌卫星发射中心发射升空。

 The probe's primary objective is to reach 2016 HO3, a small asteroid that is 40 to 100 meters wide, in the summer of 2026. It will study the celestial body up close using a suite of 11 instruments including cameras, spectrometers and radars, before deploying special devices to collect surface substances. 

该探测器的主要目标是在 2026 年夏季抵达 2016 HO3 小行星。这颗小行星宽度为 40 至 100 米，探测器将使用包括相机、光谱仪和雷达在内的 11 种仪器对其进行近距离研究，随后部署特殊设备采集表面物质。 

The asteroid, which is also known as 469219 Kamo'oalewa, orbits the sun and, therefore, is a constant companion of Earth. It is too distant to be considered a true satellite of Earth, but is the best and most stable example to date of a quasi-satellite.这颗小行星又名 469219 Kamo'oalewa，它围绕太阳运行，因此始终是地球的 “同伴”。由于距离过远，它不能被视为地球真正的卫星，但却是迄今为止最理想、最稳定的准卫星例子。

 After the asteroid samples are collected, the Tianwen 2 probe will fly back to Earth's orbit and send a capsule containing the precious materials to the ground. 

采集小行星样本后，“天问二号” 探测器将飞回地球轨道，并将装有这些珍贵物质的返回舱送回地面。 

The samples will be distributed among scientists, who will examine their physical properties, chemical and mineralogical content and isotopic composition, contributing to studies on the formation and evolution of asteroids and the early solar system. 

这些样本将分发给科学家，他们将对样本的物理性质、化学和矿物成分以及同位素组成进行研究，为小行星和早期太阳系的形成与演化研究提供助力。

 Delivering the samples to Earth will not be the end of the mission. The Tianwen 2 spacecraft will then enter the second phase of its journey, flying toward a main-belt comet called 311P to conduct a remote-sensing survey and transmit the data back to Earth for scientific research, according to the CNSA. 

将样本送回地球并非任务的终点。中国国家航天局表示，“天问二号” 探测器随后将进入任务的第二阶段，飞向一颗名为 311P 的主带彗星，进行遥感探测，并将数据传回地球供科研使用。 

The whole mission is expected to yield groundbreaking discoveries and expand the understanding of Earth and small celestial bodies inside the solar system, scientists said.科学家表示，整个任务有望取得突破性发现，加深人类对地球以及太阳系内小天体的认识。

 asteroid /ˈæstərɔɪd/ 小行星 

probe /prəʊb/ 探测器 

trajectory /trəˈdʒektəri/ 轨道；轨迹

 isotopic /ˌaɪsəˈtɒpɪk/ 同位素的