Did you know Earth has a 'minimoon'? It's known as asteroid 2016HO3, or Kamoʻoalewa.A probe sent for the China National Space Administration (CNSA) mission, Tianwen-2, has just returned its first picture of the quasi-satellite, named after a Hawaiian chant for an oscillating object in the sky.The probe is CNSA's first asteroid sample-return mission, which launched on 29 May 2025 from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center.Now, after 13 months of travel across around 1 billion kilometers (around six hundred million miles) of space, Tianwen-2 has arrived at its primary destination, the agency says.Since July 2, the probe has been hanging out about 20 kilometers from Kamoʻoalewa, from which it snapped this portrait of the 'minimoon'.Tianwen-2 probe image of asteroid 2016HO3, taken from a distance of about 20 kilometers on 2 July 2026. (CNSA)Kamoʻoalewa is too distant to be considered a bona fide Earth satellite, and its main orbit is around the Sun. But since it skirts our planet in an elliptical orbit every 45 years, it qualifies for rare 'quasi-satellite' status – just one of seven known to orbit Earth.It's a member of the asteroid class known as the Apollo asteroids, which more or less share Earth's orbit around the Sun. However, as a quasi-satellite, Kamoʻoalewa remains near Earth across long periods and multiple orbits.What we already know about Kamoʻoalewa is scant, based on observations from a distance. It's approximately 40 to 100 meters in diameter, which means it may turn out to be the smallest asteroid ever visited by human spacecraft.