China's Tianwen-2 reaches Kamo'oalewa to attempt landing and sample collection
China's Tianwen-2 spacecraft has arrived at Kamo'oalewa, a tiny asteroid that orbits the Sun alongside Earth (think of it as a sort of mini-moon).
After traveling 600 million miles since its launch in May 2025, Tianwen-2 got super close (just 19.31km) and snapped some detailed photos.
Now, the real adventure begins: the probe will try to land, collect samples, and dig into what this space rock is made of.
Kamo'oalewa suspected to be lunar fragment
Kamo'oalewa was only discovered in 2016 and is one of seven known quasi-moons hanging out near Earth.
It's about as wide as two school busses (66 feet), and scientists think it might actually be a chunk of our own Moon, blasted off by an ancient impact.
Earlier studies found its makeup matches Apollo lunar rocks, but CNSA expects Tianwen-2 to bring back samples in April 2027 to finally settle the mystery.
If confirmed, we'll have proof that bits of the Moon are still floating nearby.