• China's Tianwen-2 spacecraft launched to retrieve asteroid samples.
• The mission aims to study asteroid formation and potentially lunar fragments.
• Tianwen-2 is set to return samples by November 2027.
• The mission involves a secondary target, comet 311P/PanSTARRS.
• If successful, China will be the third country to return asteroid material.

China has launched its Tianwen-2 spacecraft on a mission aimed at retrieving samples from the near-Earth asteroid 469219 Kamoʻoalewa, also known as 2016 HO3. This significant launch took place at approximately 1:31 a.m. local time on May 29, 2025, from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center. If successful, the mission will make China the third nation to return pristine asteroid samples, following Japan and the United States, according to The New York Times, South China Morning Post, and Reuters.

The Tianwen-2 mission will allow the spacecraft to reach Kamoʻoalewa in July 2026, where it will collect samples and return them to Earth by November 2027. The mission has been described as a "significant step" in China's interplanetary exploration ambitions, with state media noting that it aims to "shed light" on the formation and evolution of both asteroids and the Earth, according to Al Jazeera and Channel News Asia.

Following the mission's primary objective, Tianwen-2 will also proceed to investigate comet 311P/PanSTARRS, which is located in the main asteroid belt. The mission will provide insights into the physical and chemical properties of both celestial bodies, including their shapes, sizes, and compositions. Researchers believe Kamoʻoalewa could potentially be a fragment of the Moon, which would yield valuable data on lunar history and asteroid formation, according to South China Morning Post and Reuters.

Experts highlight that collecting samples from an asteroid presents unique challenges compared to previous lunar missions, particularly due to the asteroid's lower gravity. Successful retrieval is anticipated to require advanced engineering capabilities as landing on 2016 HO3 demands more precision and adaptation, as noted by planetary scientists involved in asteroid research, according to The New York Times, Al Jazeera, and Reuters.