BEIJING, July 6, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - China's Tianwen-2 space probe, which is set to bring back samples from an asteroid for research, has reached its target after travelling one billion kilometres over more than a year, the Chinese space agency said on Monday.

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

It comes as Beijing has ploughed billions of dollars into its space programme in recent years to achieve what President Xi Jinping calls the country's "space dream".

The Tianwen-2 successfully reached a distance of 20 kilometres (12 miles) from the asteroid and commenced scientific exploration after a journey of around 400 days and 1 billion kilometres, the Chinese space agency CNSA said in a statement.

The agency also published a photograph of the asteroid, a rugged and grey rocky mass named "2016 HO3" that contrasts sharply with the black background of space.

"The probe will progressively conduct more detailed scientific exploration to acquire data on the asteroid's morphology, material composition and internal structure, laying the groundwork for subsequent sample collection operations," the CNSA said.

Tianwen-2 is to release a module once the samples have been collected that will transport them back to Earth.

Japanese and American missions have already collected samples from different asteroids.

However, Tianwen-2 marks an important milestone for China in catching up with the United States and Europe in the field of deep-space exploration -- that is, beyond the Moon -- according to experts.

Asteroids are rocky bodies orbiting the Sun. Scientists believe that samples could contain clues about the origins and evolution of the solar system.