Still shooting for the stars

More space missions planned, including a manned trip to the moon and one that would bring back samples from Mars

Editor's Note: China has always adhered to exploring and utilizing outer space for peaceful purposes. In recent decades, China's aerospace development has entered the "fast lane", seeing remarkable achievements in terms of space exploration. Thursday marks China's 10th Space Day. China Daily presents a special report on the nation's achievements in the field.

China's first asteroid sample-return mission, Tianwen 2, is scheduled to be launched in the coming weeks from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan province.

The robotic probe has been undergoing prelaunch functional checks at the mountainous spaceport since it arrived in late February, according to the China National Space Administration.