Tianwen-2 probe travels 1 billion km to begin asteroid mission

The Chinese Space Agency has done the unthinkable as the Tianwen-2 space probe has achieved its objective after traveling more than 1 billion kilometers (620 million miles) over more than a year.

The space mission was launched in May, 2025, which marks China’s first attempt to gather asteroid samples.

The mission is part of China’s broader investment in its space program, which aims to fulfill what President Xi Jinping calls the country’s “space dream.”

The Tianwen-2 has approached within 20 kilometers (12 miles) of the asteroid and has begun scientific exploration following a journey of approximately 400 days.

The Chinese National Space Administration (CNSA) released a statement and a photograph of the asteroid, named “2016 HO3,” which appears as a rugged, gray rocky mass against the blackness of space.

According to the CNSA, “The probe will progressively conduct more detailed scientific exploration to gather data on the asteroid’s morphology, material composition, and internal structure, laying the groundwork for later sample collection operations.”

Once the samples are collected, Tianwen-2 will release a module to transport them back to Earth.

While Japanese and American missions have already collected samples from various asteroids, Tianwen-2 represents a significant milestone for China as it seeks to catch up with the United States and Europe in deep-space exploration—beyond just the Moon, experts note.