China's Tianwen-2 reaches Earth's quasi-moon Kamooalewa
China's Tianwen-2 spacecraft has arrived at the near-Earth asteroid Kamooalewa, a small rocky body that orbits the Sun in near lockstep with Earth as a quasi-moon. The China National Space Administration confirmed the July 6 arrival and released a first close-up image. The probe is now surveying the surface before attempting the first-ever sample return from a quasi-moon.
China's Tianwen-2 spacecraft has reached Kamooalewa, a small rocky asteroid that travels around the Sun in near lockstep with Earth, earning it the nickname quasi-moon. The China National Space Administration confirmed the arrival on July 6, 2026 and released a first close-up image of the elongated body. The probe launched in May 2025 and covered roughly one billion kilometers over about 400 days to catch up with its target, now holding station around 20 kilometers away and mapping the surface. Tianwen-2 carries eleven science instruments and can sample the surface three ways: hovering, a quick touch-and-go, or anchoring itself to the rock. One leading theory holds that Kamooalewa is a fragment blasted off the Moon by an ancient impact, and a returned sample could test that idea directly. The spacecraft is expected to leave with its sample in April 2027 and drop a return capsule back to Earth in late November 2027. Sources: SpaceNews, phys.org, CGTN, Space.com.