Long March 8 | Queqiao-2

Queqiao-2 is a Chinese artificial satellite to serve as a communications relay for future Chinese lunar far side missions that cannot communicate directly with the Earth, beginning with the Chang'e 6 lunar sample return mission in 2024. It will operate from a Distant Retrograde Orbit (DRO) of the Moon. The launch also carries the Tiandu-1 & 2 small satellites testing cis-lunar space navigation and inter-satellite communication techniques for CNSA’s Deep Space Exploration Laboratory (DSEL).

Mission Details

  • Launch date: March 20, 2024 at 12:31 AM UTC
  • Launch vehicle: Long March 8
  • Operator: China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation
  • Launch site: Wenchang Space Launch Site, People's Republic of China
  • Mission type: Planetary Science