China's Tianwen-2 probe has successfully arrived at a distance of 20 kilometers from asteroid 2016 HO3, marking the start of its scientific exploration following a 400-day journey covering approximately 1 billion kilometers, according to the China National Space Administration (CNSA). The mission, launched on May 29, 2025, aims to collect samples from the near-Earth asteroid and explore the more distant main-belt comet 311P over the course of a decade.
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During its approach, the probe captured images of the asteroid and utilized optical navigation data to refine its trajectory. This process decreased the previously estimated positional uncertainty from hundreds of kilometers to the kilometer scale. The probe first detected the asteroid on June 6, 2026, and entered a coplanar trajectory with it the following day, coming within 30,000 kilometers before getting as close as 2,000 kilometers on June 19.
The next phase of the mission will involve detailed scientific investigations to gather data on the asteroid's morphology, composition, and internal structure, which will facilitate future sample collection efforts, as stated by the CNSA.
Source: Xinhua News Agency.