China launched its first asteroid sample-return mission, Tianwen-2, in the early hours of Thursday, an endeavour to shed light on the formation and evolution of asteroids and the early solar system.

Atop a Long March-3B carrier rocket, the probe lifted off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan Province.

The Tianwen-2 mission aims to achieve multiple goals over a decade-long expedition: collecting samples from the near-Earth asteroid 2016HO3 and exploring the main-belt comet 311P, which is more distant than Mars.

Shan Zhongde, head of the China National Space Administration (CNSA), stated that the Tianwen-2 mission represents a significant step in China's new journey of interplanetary exploration.

Despite the mission's long duration and significant risks, he expressed his expectation of yielding groundbreaking discoveries and expanding humanity's knowledge of the cosmos.

Known as a quasi-satellite of Earth, asteroid 2016HO3 orbits the Sun and appears to circle around Earth as well, remaining a constant companion to our planet.

Dubbed as "cosmic fossils," asteroids preserve critical information about the solar system's infancy, scientists say.

The second target, 311P, a celestial anomaly discovered in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, occasionally spews out materials and resembles a comet with tails. Its discovery challenges astronomers' conventional understanding about a comet, as the region is too close to the Sun for a comet to retain its volatile materials like water ice.

The Tianwen-2 mission is expected to advance understanding of the origins, evolution and characteristics of these two types of small celestial bodies, said Han Siyuan, deputy director of the CNSA's Lunar Exploration and Space Engineering Center and spokesperson for the Tianwen-2 mission.

Scientifically, the mission focuses on measuring physical parameters of the two celestial targets, including their orbital dynamics, rotation, size, shape and thermal properties.

The mission will also investigate the topography, composition and internal structure of the two celestial bodies, and possibly study the materials ejected by the main-belt comet, Han said.

After the samples are brought back to Earth, laboratory analysis will be carried out to determine the samples' physical properties, chemical and mineral composition and structural characteristics, he added.

The entire mission process is complex. After launch, the spacecraft will journey for about one year to reach its first target, during which it will perform deep-space maneuvers and mid-course corrections until it is about 30,000 km away from 2016HO3.

The probe will gradually approach the target, carrying out close exploration by circling and hovering over the asteroid to determine the sampling area, with a strategy of flying and probing simultaneously.

After completing the sampling, the spacecraft will fly back to the vicinity of Earth. A return capsule will separate from the main probe and is expected to deliver the samples to Earth by the end of 2027.

The main probe will then continue its voyage to rendezvous with the more distant target, the main-belt comet 311P, to carry out subsequent exploration tasks.

The probe is equipped with a suite of scientific instruments, including cameras, a visible and infrared imaging spectrometer, a thermal emission spectrometer, radar, a magnetometer, and analyzers for charged and neutral particles, as well as for ejected materials, according to the CNSA.

The mission aims to overcome key technological challenges, including sampling on a low-gravity celestial surface, high-precision autonomous navigation and control, as well as trajectory design, according to the CNSA.