A Chinese Spacecraft Just Arrived At Earth’s ‘Quasi Moon’

Topline

China’s Tianwen-2 spacecraft has arrived at one of the strangest objects in Earth’s cosmic neighborhood — a tiny asteroid often called a “mini moon.” The probe reached 469219 Kamoʻoalewa, also known as 2016 HO3, on July 4 after just over 13 months of interplanetary travel. The arrival marks the beginning of the mission’s most important phase as scientists prepare to investigate the asteroid up close and eventually collect samples for return to Earth.

Key Facts

Discovered in 2016, Kamoʻoalewa is an asteroid between 130 and 330 feet (40 to 100 meters) across. Depending on how large Kamoʻoalewa turns out to be when measured by Tianwen-2, it could be the smallest asteroid ever to be visited.

Although it is a constant companion in space, Kamoʻoalewa is not a true satellite of Earth. Instead, it’s a quasi-satellite, a rare type of asteroid that orbits the sun while remaining in sync with Earth’s orbit.

It’s one of seven known quasi-satellites that share Earth’s orbital neighborhood, according to The Planetary Society. Its name means “oscillating celestial object” in Hawaiian.

The Tianwen-2 mission launched from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center on May 28, 2025. It will spend roughly 9 months orbiting Kamoʻoalewa, obtaining a sample to send back to Earth. It’s thought that the asteroid may be a missing piece of the moon, blasted off during a major impact long ago.

What Tianwen-2 Will Do

Tianwen-2 will now begin exploring one of the smallest and most intriguing worlds ever visited. The spacecraft will now map the asteroid, searching for a safe place to collect a sample. Tianwen-2 carries both a touch-and-go sampling system and an anchor-and-attach mechanism equipped with drills for collecting surface material. Scientists hope to return at least 100 grams of samples to Earth. It will depart Kamoʻoalewa in April 2027 before releasing a return capsule that could land on Earth in November 2027. Following the 2027 sample delivery, Tianwen-2 will use a gravity-assist maneuver to slingshot to comet 311P/PANSTARRS. It is expected to arrive at the comet in January 2035.

China’s ‘heavenly Questions’ Space Program

Tianwen, which translates to “Heavenly Questions,” is the name for China National Space Administration's (CNSA) deep space and planetary exploration missions. Tianwen-1 is a Mars orbiter, lander and rover mission that successfully touched down on the red planet on May 15, 2021, releasing its Zhurong rover. It made China the second nation in history to successfully land and operate a spacecraft on Mars. Tianwen-3, scheduled for 2028, will attempt to be the first mission ever to collect samples from Mars and deliver them to Earth, likely in 2031. Tianwen-4 is scheduled for launch in 2030 to send two spacecraft on operational missions to Jupiter (where it will orbit the moon Callisto) and Uranus (a flyby mission).

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