After a yearlong flight of a billion kilometers, a Chinese space probe is set to take samples from an asteroid. The mission is part of what President Xi Jinping calls the country's "space dream."

China’s Tianwen-2 has arrived at Kamoʻoalewa, a tiny quasi-satellite of Earth, beginning a mission to collect samples and test its lunar origins.

Update: China's Tianwen-2 probe reaches target asteroid, starts scientific exploration-

The mission, which was launched in May 2025, is China's first to collect samples from an asteroid.