China's Tianwen-2 Probe Reaches Quasi-Moon Kamo'oalewa, Returns First Images

China's Tianwen-2 spacecraft has arrived at the asteroid Kamo'oalewa, Earth's quasi-satellite, and sent back the first pictures of its surface, setting the stage for a sample-return attempt.

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China's Tianwen-2 space probe has successfully rendezvoused with Earth's quasi-moon, the asteroid Kamo'oalewa, and transmitted the first pictures of the celestial body. The milestone, announced on July 11, 2026, marks a key step in the mission's plan to land on the asteroid and retrieve samples for return to Earth.

The probe, launched in 2025, traveled millions of kilometers to reach Kamo'oalewa, a small asteroid that orbits the Sun in a 1:1 resonance with Earth, making it a quasi-satellite. The images provide the first close-up views of the asteroid's surface, revealing its shape and terrain.

According to the China National Space Administration, the next phase involves a landing attempt on Kamo'oalewa's surface. If successful, Tianwen-2 will collect rock and dust samples, which will be stored in a return capsule for transport back to Earth. The entire sample-return process is expected to take several years.

Kamo'oalewa, discovered in 2016, is about 40-100 meters in diameter and is thought to be a fragment of the Moon that was ejected by an ancient impact. Studying its composition could provide insights into the early solar system and Earth-Moon system evolution.

Tianwen-2 is China's second interplanetary mission, following the Mars orbiter and rover Tianwen-1. The mission's success would make China the third country to return samples from an asteroid, after Japan's Hayabusa and Hayabusa2 missions and NASA's OSIRIS-REx.