China spacecraft photographs near-Earth asteroid Kamo'oalewa

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Tianwen-2 has returned the first close-up photograph of near-Earth asteroid 469219 Kamo'oalewa, taken about 20 km from the object after roughly 400 days and a stated 600 billion mile journey. The rock, an estimated 100 meters across and classified as an Apollo quasi-moon, orbits the sun while co-orbiting Earth and may be a fragment of the lunar surface based on 2021 mineral findings. China plans to collect samples with Tianwen-2 and return them to Earth in a capsule expected to crash-land late next year, which would add a new sample-return to international efforts.

Tianwen-2 photographed Kamo'oalewa 20 km away ahead of planned sampling.