# China's Tianwen-2 Probe Close Enough to Start Tests on Asteroid 1 Billion km Away

_Monday, July 6, 2026 at 8:00 AM EDT · Science · Latest · Tier 2 — Notable_

China's state space administration announced on Monday that its Tianwen-2 probe is now close enough to asteroid 2016H03 to begin investigating it, state broadcaster CCTV reported.

The announcement came after a journey of 400 days covering more than 1 billion km (621.3 million miles). The probe was launched on May 29, 2025, and has reached a distance of 20,000 km from the asteroid.

Tianwen-2 will examine the asteroid's morphology, material composition and internal structure with a view to sampling at a later date, according to the report.

The China National Space Administration made the announcement on July 6.

## Sources

- [Reuters](https://www.reuters.com/science/chinas-tianwen-2-probe-close-enough-start-tests-asteroid-1-billion-km-away-cctv-2026-07-06/)

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