China launches Tianwen-2 to retrieve asteroid samples

China launched its first asteroid sample-return mission, Tianwen-2, in the early hours of 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 carrier rocket blasted off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan Province at 1:31 a.m. (Beijing Time). And about 18 minutes later, the Tianwen-2 probe was sent into a transfer orbit from Earth to the asteroid 2016HO3, according to the China National Space Administration (CNSA).

The spacecraft unfolded its solar panels smoothly, and the CNSA declared the launch a success.