China’s Tianwen-2 aims to collect samples from asteroid Kamo’oalewa and return them to Earth

China’s Tianwen-2 has arrived at Kamoʻoalewa, a tiny quasi-satellite of Earth, beginning a mission to collect samples and test its lunar origins.

China’s Tianwen-2 probe targets asteroid Kamoʻoalewa to solve a cosmic mystery: is this near-Earth space rock a lost fragment blasted off our Moon?

The mission, which was launched in May 2025, is China's first to collect samples from an asteroid.

China’s Tianwen-2 aims to collect samples from asteroid Kamo’oalewa and return them to Earth