Chinese official calls for prioritizing Neptune orbiter mission

HELSINKI — A senior Chinese space scientist and delegate to the country's national congress is proposing the prioritization of an unprecedented orbiter mission to ice giant Neptune.

Chinese researchers have published concept studies for Neptune orbiter missions in recent years which would require technological breakthroughs but could deliver huge scientific payoffs. A July 2025 study outlined science objectives and payloads and identified a launch window of around 2033. Neptune has not been visited since NASA's Voyager 2 flyby in 1989.

Wang Wei, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), and a researcher at the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), made the proposal to prioritize a Neptune orbiter mission as a deputy to the National People's Congress (NPC), during China's ongoing political sessions in Beijing.