This undated file photo shows the simulation image of Asteroid Huazhongkejida. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

HEFEI - China plans to launch the Tianwen 2 mission around 2025 to collect samples from a near-Earth asteroid and explore a comet, a senior space expert said Monday.

The main goal of the Tianwen 2 mission is to send a probe to a near-Earth asteroid coded 2016HO3 to retrieve samples, Zhang Rongqiao, the chief designer of China's planetary exploration program and chief designer of the Tianwen 2 mission, told the media on the country's Space Day that falls on April 24.

"If successful, it would be China's first samples collected from interplanetary space," Zhang said, adding that a spacecraft will be sent to fly around and then land on the asteroid to collect the samples.

READ MORE: China plans Tianwen-2 mission for asteroid sampling

After completing this main task, the spacecraft is expected to continue its journey to explore a comet in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, Zhang said.