China embarks on a groundbreaking mission to collect unspoiled asteroid materials | Space Exploration

Chinese state media announced the successful launch of a spacecraft for the country’s first mission to collect asteroid samples, marking a significant milestone in its plans for interplanetary exploration. The spacecraft, named Tianwen-2, was launched from the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre and is expected to reach the near-Earth asteroid “469219 Kamoʻoalewa” in July 2026. It will then bring the samples back to Earth for a landing in November 2027, potentially making China the third nation to achieve such a feat following Japan and the United States. The mission aims to shed light on the formation and evolution of asteroids and the Earth. If successful, China will make groundbreaking discoveries and expand humanity’s knowledge of the cosmos.

Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/5/29/china-launches-landmark-mission-to-retrieve-pristine-asteroid-samples?traffic_source=rss