China has launched its highly anticipated Tianwen-2 mission today, marking the beginning of an ambitious decade-long voyage to return samples from a near-Earth asteroid.

The primary target is the near-Earth asteroid 469219 Kamo'oalewa, which is a quasi-satellite of Earth. Kamo'oalewa, which means "an oscillating celestial object" in Hawaiian, was likely blasted away from the actual moon relatively recently in the solar system's history.

The spacecraft will conduct remote sensing observations before attempting to collect a 100-gram sample of the surface regolith, using explosives to expose subsurface materials if necessary.

After returning the sample capsule to Earth, the main probe will then continue onward to observe the main-belt comet 311P/PANSTARRS. It is a brilliant, multi-target mission that highlights the growing capabilities of the CNSA.