Taibai (XH-02)

Taibai (designation XH-02) is the second ship of the Xihe-class interplanetary exploration mothership. Taibai began construction on 2054-12-11, completed assembly on 2056-10-04, and entered service in April 2057. As of March 2060, Taibai is in Mars orbit executing Mars Expedition 4.

Taibai is the first Xihe-class mothership to conduct an asteroid belt exploration mission (the 2057-2058 Asteroid Exploration Mission, which conducted orbital survey and surface sampling of Vesta), and the first to execute the Mars Expedition mission series. Since entering service, Taibai has completed three major deep-space missions.

Construction

Taibai's construction began on 2054-12-11 using low Earth orbit assembly. The construction period was approximately 22 months, with assembly completed on 2056-10-04, making it the second Xihe-class mothership to complete construction after Xihe. Assembly was conducted at Star Port Station using Qingtian cargo ships (LEO upmass capacity approximately 150 t) for large-module transport -- a fundamental shift from the Vulture Shuttle "orbiter relay" method used for the lead ship Xihe (XH-01). The Star Port dock-based assembly and Qingtian's large-module delivery capability reduced the construction cycle to 22 months, significantly shorter than Xihe's 23-month free-flying orbit assembly.

After assembly, Taibai entered a post-assembly standby phase from 2056-10-04 to 2056-11-11 (38 days), then transitioned to the commissioning phase.

Commissioning

Taibai began its commissioning phase on 2056-11-11, lasting approximately 4 months and completing on 2057-03-12. Commissioning covered Earth orbit systems checks, Earth-Moon transfer, and lunar orbit operational validation. After commissioning, Taibai underwent pre-service maintenance from 2057-03-12 to 2057-04-25, then formally entered service in April 2057.

Operational history

Asteroid Exploration Mission (2057-2058)

The Asteroid Exploration Mission (AEM) was Taibai's first deep-space mission after entering service, and the first time a Xihe-class mothership entered the asteroid belt to execute a scientific exploration mission.

Taibai departed Earth on 2057-05-04 with a standard transfer trajectory injection, and after 74 days of heliocentric transfer arrived at Vesta on 2057-07-17. Vesta surface operations lasted approximately 5.5 months (to 2058-01-04), completing orbital mapping, surface sample collection, and geological analysis. After the mission, Taibai departed Vesta on 2058-01-04 and, after approximately 3.5 months of return heliocentric transfer, arrived at Earth on 2058-04-17.

Mars Expedition 3 (2058-2059)

Mars Expedition 3 (ME-3) was Taibai's first Mars mission. Taibai arrived at Mars orbit on 2058-04-17 directly after returning from the asteroid mission, without a separate outbound transfer phase (the ship transitioned directly from the AEM return into ME-3).

Mars surface operations lasted approximately 12.5 months (2058-04-17 to 2059-05-04), providing materiel resupply, crew rotation, and facility expansion support for Mars One Base. After mission completion, Taibai returned in uncrewed mode: departing on 2059-05-04, and after approximately 2 months of heliocentric transfer, arriving at Earth on 2059-07-06. It then underwent approximately 1 month of maintenance at Star Port Station from 2059-07-06 to 2059-08-04.

Mars Expedition 4 (2059-2060, ongoing)

Mars Expedition 4 (ME-4) is Taibai's current third Mars mission. The mission is divided into two phases:

Phase 1 (August to November 2059): Taibai departed on 2059-08-04 and, after approximately 81 days of transfer, entered Mars orbit on 2059-10-24. Phase 1 Mars surface operations lasted only approximately 11 days (to 2059-11-04). During this period Taibai also executed the ME-3 return mission (heliocentric transfer from 2059-11-04 to 2060-01-06).

Taibai then returned to LEO for brief maintenance (2060-01-06 to 2060-02-17), and executed an uncrewed cargo outbound mission from 2060-01-22 to 2060-02-27. After maintenance, Taibai transitioned to Phase 2 Mars operations: re-entering Mars orbit on 2060-02-28 for planetary surface operations expected to continue until 2060-10-30. As of 2060-03-12, Taibai is in Mars orbit executing the ME-4 Phase 2 mission.

Specifications

See also

• Xihe-class interplanetary exploration mothership
• Xihe (XH-01)
• Changxi (XH-03)
• Echo Shuttle
• Star Port Station
• Qingtian cargo ship
• Mars One Base