Tianwen-2 Probe Enters Orbit Around Quasi-Moon Kamo'oalewa

China's Tianwen-2 spacecraft has produced the first detailed images of Kamo'oalewa, Earth's quasi-moon, GB News reported. The Chinese National Space Administration confirmed that the probe is now in orbit around the asteroid. Imagery obtained on July 2 from roughly 12 miles away shows an asymmetrical, angular rock measuring between 16 and 20 meters across.

Kamo'oalewa technically orbits the Sun while maintaining a close relationship with Earth. Scientists describe it as pointy and compact, unlike the rounder, rubble-covered asteroids previously visited by spacecraft. "Kamo'oalewa looks amazing, like nothing we've seen floating in space before," said Sabina Raducan, researcher at the International Space Science Institute in Bern, Switzerland.

Cristina Thomas, planetary scientist at Northern Arizona University, stated that it could be a remnant of a catastrophic event. Kamo'oalewa is the smallest object ever visited by a human-made spacecraft. Tianwen-2 launched in May 2025 and traveled approximately 620 million miles to reach the asteroid.

The spacecraft will spend close to a year conducting scientific observations and mapping the surface before attempting sample collection. If successful, it is scheduled to depart in April 2027, with samples expected to arrive on Earth by late 2027. China would become the third nation to retrieve material directly from an asteroid, after Japan and the United States.

"It'll be the first time we visited something like that," said Andy Rivkin, planetary scientist at Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory. Kamo'oalewa completes one rotation every 28 minutes.