China tests asteroid sample return mission with parachutes.

China's Academy of Aerospace Solid Propulsion Technology has successfully conducted high-altitude parachute deployment tests for the Tianwen-2 asteroid sample return and comet rendezvous mission, scheduled to launch in May 2025. The mission will target the near-Earth asteroid 469219 Kamoʻoalewa, and the parachute will be used to slow the descent of a return capsule carrying a sample container after reentering the Earth’s atmosphere. China is also working on an unprecedented Mars sample return mission and planning an asteroid deflection test for 2025.