China launches Tianwen-2 mission(1/4)

A Long March-3B Y110 carrier rocket carrying China's Tianwen-2 probe blasts off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan Province, May 29, 2025. (Photo provided to China News Service)

China launched its first asteroid sample-return mission, Tianwen-2, on Thursday, an endeavor to shed light on the formation and evolution of asteroids and the early solar system.

The Tianwen-2 mission aims to achieve multiple goals over a decade-long expedition: collecting samples from the near-Earth asteroid 2016HO3 and exploring the main-belt comet 311P, which is more distant than Mars.

A Long March-3B Y110 carrier rocket carrying China's Tianwen-2 probe blasts off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan Province, May 29, 2025. (Photo provided to China News Service)

A Long March-3B Y110 carrier rocket carrying China's Tianwen-2 probe blasts off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan Province, May 29, 2025. (Photo provided to China News Service)

A Long March-3B Y110 carrier rocket carrying China's Tianwen-2 probe blasts off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan Province, May 29, 2025. (Photo provided to China News Service)