China's space probe Chang'e-2 has scanned the surface of an asteroid approximately 7 million km away from Earth, announced the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense of China on December 15.

Chang'e-2 passed by Toutatis, named after a Celtic god, on December 13 at 4:30 p.m. Beijing time, according to a statement of the administration.

The probe came as close as 3.2 km from Toutatis and took pictures of the asteroid at a relative velocity of 10.73 km per second. It was the first time a spacecraft from Earth has come so close to the asteroid.

Before China, only the United States, the EU and Japan were able to examine an asteroid using a spacecraft.

Sources with the administration said that Chang'e-2 is continuing its deep space travel and will reach a distance of more than 10 million km away from Earth in January 2013.

Chang'e-2 was launched on October 1, 2010 and later orbited the moon to finish a more extensive probe than its predecessor Chang'e-1.