Topline<\/p>\n
China is about to begin one of the most unusual asteroid exploration missions ever attempted. In early July, the Tianwen-2 spacecraft is expected to arrive at a Statue of Liberty-sized near-Earth asteroid often described as Earth\u2019s \u201cmini-moon.\u201d If it arrives safely, it will take a sample and send it back to Earth in a capsule. <\/p>\n
China\u2019s Tianwen-2 has arrived at Kamo\u02bboalewa, a tiny quasi-satellite of Earth, beginning a mission to collect samples and test its lunar origins.<\/p>\n
GettyKey Facts<\/p>\n
Discovered in 2016 and also known as 2016 HO3, 469219 Kamo\u02bboalewa is one of only a handful of known quasi-satellites.<\/p>\n
Measuring just 130 to 330 feet (40 to 100 meters) across \u2014 roughly the size of the Statue of Liberty \u2014 it could become the smallest asteroid ever visited by a spacecraft.<\/p>\n
Kamo\u02bboalewa\u2019s name is Hawaiian and means \u201can oscillating celestial object.\u201d It orbits the sun, but is gravitationally synchronized with Earth, making it appear to orbit our planet over long periods \u2014 like our moon.<\/p>\n
A Possible Piece Of The Moon<\/p>\n
Planetary scientists are interested in Kamo\u02bboalewa because it may not be an ordinary asteroid. Studies of the light reflected from it suggest that it closely resembles lunar rocks collected during the Apollo missions. Some researchers think it could be a fragment of the moon blasted into space by a large impact millions of years ago. If that theory is correct, Tianwen-2 could effectively be visiting a long-lost piece of Earth\u2019s natural satellite.<\/p>\n
What Tianwen-2 Will Do At Kamo\u02bboalewa<\/p>\n
Launched on May 28, 2025, Tianwen-2 is China\u2019s first asteroid sample-return mission and part of the country\u2019s expanding deep-space exploration program. After arriving at Kamo\u02bboalewa, the spacecraft will spend several months conducting remote sensing observations, mapping the asteroid and identifying potential sampling sites. Mission planners intend to use a combination of touch-and-go maneuvers and a more ambitious anchoring system equipped with drills to collect between 20 and 100 grams of material.<\/p>\n
Tianwen-2\u2019s Long Mission To A Comet<\/p>\n
Tianwen-2 is scheduled to leave Kamo\u02bboalewa in April 2027 and return a sample capsule to Earth later that year. It should land in November 2027, allowing scientists to get their hands on what could be fragments of the early solar system. After releasing the capsule, Tianwen-2 will use Earth\u2019s gravity to redirect itself toward a second target: the main-belt comet 311P\/PanSTARRS, also known as P\/2013 P5 (PanSTARRS), which NASA\u2019s Hubble Space Telescope imaged<\/a> in 2013. Tianwen-2 is expected to arrive there around 2035.<\/p>\n \u2018mini Moons\u2019 And Asteroid Mining<\/p>\n Unlike most asteroids, Earth\u2019s quasi-satellites stay close to Earth for long periods. That makes them relatively easy to visit. For example, Kamo\u02bboalewa orbits the sun in a 1:1 orbital resonance with Earth, completing one orbit for every orbit Earth makes. That creates the illusion that it circles Earth, but it also makes it a potential target for future robotic missions \u2014 such as asteroid mining for water ice and platinum-group metals. According to research published<\/a> in 2025 by Spherical Insights & Consulting, the global space and asteroid mining market could reach $16 billion by 2035.<\/p>\n Further ReadingForbesWhy New York\u2019s \u2018Manhattanhenge Effect\u2019 Actually Lasts 44 DaysBy Jamie Carter<\/a>ForbesIt\u2019s 100 Days Until A Total Solar Eclipse. Here\u2019s How To See ItBy Jamie Carter<\/a>ForbesWhat Are Those Two Bright Stars In The West After Sunset?By Jamie Carter<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Topline China is about to begin one of the most unusual asteroid exploration missions ever attempted. In early…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":766480,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[69408,272582,49,48,272581,272584,272579,71803,272583,72108,272580,66,69407],"class_list":["post-766479","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-science","tag-2016-ho3","tag-asteroid-sample-return","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-china-space-mission","tag-earth-companion-asteroid","tag-earth-mini-moon","tag-kamooalewa","tag-lunar-fragment","tag-mini-moon","tag-quasi-satellite","tag-science","tag-tianwen-2"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/766479","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=766479"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/766479\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/766480"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=766479"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=766479"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=766479"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}