China has revealed the first image from its Tianwen 2 asteroid sample return mission, which is now more than 3 million kilometers (1.9 million miles) from Earth.

The Tianwen-2 mission by China targets asteroid 2016 HO3 to gather samples, with plans for future missions to Mars and Jupiter, enhancing space exploration efforts.

In fact, Tianwen 2 isn't China's first sample-return mission; the nation has pulled off two already. Chang'e 5 hauled material from the moon's nearside to Earth in December 2020, and Chang'e 6 ...

Tianwen 2 is China's second planetary exploration mission, following on from the Tianwen 1 Mars orbiter and rover, which launched in 2020. Tianwen 3 will be a Mars sample return mission, launching in ...

China has successfully launched the Tianwen-2 mission, a historic milestone in the country's space exploration endeavors. In ...

In a major milestone for China’s space exploration program, the Tianwen 2 spacecraft has transmitted its first photo from space, marking a significant moment in its mission to study the enigmatic ...

If Tianwen-2 pulls this off, China will become the third nation — after Japan and the United States — to retrieve pristine material from an asteroid.

China Wednesday launched its Tianwen-2 space mission to collect asteroid samples and conduct a main-belt comet study. A ...

The Tianwen-2 probe has sent a self-portrait as it heads toward one of the most enigmatic objects in our space neighborhood: ...

But Tianwen-2 will also test a method called “anchor-and-attach,” using four robotic arms with drills at their tips to affix itself to the asteroid’s surface.

Tianwen-2 lifted off on a Long March 3B rocket at 1:31 p.m. Eastern (1731 UTC) from Xichang Satellite Launch Center, southwest China, climbing into the night sky above the spaceport.