Chinas Tianwen-2 mission lifts off to explore unusual asteroids
CNN3 days
China Launches Asteroid Sample Return Mission
Above: The Long March-7A carrier rocket carrying ChinaSat 3B satellite blasts off from the Wenchang Space Launch Site on May 20, 2025 in Wenchang, Hainan Province of China. Image copyright: Luo Yunfei/Contributor/China News Service/VCG via Getty Images
The Spin
Pro-China narrative
China's Tianwen-2 marks a staggering leap in deep-space exploration — precise, bold, and visionary. From Mars to asteroids, China now leads with ambition and technical prowess. If humanity is to thrive beyond Earth, the U.S. and its allies must set aside rivalry and reawaken the spirit of Apollo-Soyuz. The cosmos demands collaboration, not Cold War repetition.
Anti-China narrative
China's breakneck advances in space — the asteroid probe and sampling mission being its latest — should alarm the West. Behind the facade of exploration lies a state-driven machine weaponizing space, outpacing the U.S. With counter-space weapons, lunar ambitions, and militarized policy, Beijing is not in a race — it's preparing for dominance. The U.S. must wake up.