China's Tianwen-2 probe reaches asteroid after 1 bn km journey

The China National Space Administration (CNSA) announced on Monday that its Tianwen-2 probe arrived 20 km away from asteroid 2016HO3 after travelling 1 billion km in 400 days. CNSA added that the probe took images of the asteroid and will begin exploring its material composition, internal structure and sample collection. China's first asteroid sample-return mission was launched in May 2025.