China’s Tianwen-2 Space Probe Has Rendezvoused With Earth’s Quasi-Moon
The China National Space Administration’s asteroid probe Tianwen-2 successfully reached the asteroid Kamo’oalewa, which orbits the Sun in a path nearly identical to Earth’s.
After undergoing multiple orbital adjustments in deep space, it first detected Kamo’oalewa on June 6, 2026. On July 2, it successfully captured the first-ever images of Kamo’oalewa from a distance of about 20 kilometers. This achievement comes at the end of a 400 day journey covering a distance of roughly 1 billion kilometers.
Kamo’oalewa is the most stable of Earth’s known quasi-satellites, and because it orbits the Sun in near-synchronous motion with Earth, it is considered a relatively accessible celestial body.
But landing on the asteroid—let alone gathering samples—will be a challenge. Kamo’oalewa has an average diameter of only about 41 meters and rotates at high speed. This means the spacecraft must achieve stable contact and collect samples within a limited timeframe. If it...
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