China's Taiwan-2 reaches Earth's ‘mini moon', sample collection set to begin

China’s ambitious asteroid exploration mission has reached a significant milestone as the Tianwen-2 spacecraft arrived at Kamo’oalewa, a near-Earth asteroid often described as Earth’s “mini-moon,” in early July 2026.

The spacecraft was launched on May 28, 2025, and is approaching the asteroid, which is about the size of the Statue of Liberty. This marks China’s first asteroid sample-return mission and showcases the country’s expanding deep-space exploration capabilities.

The asteroid was discovered in 2016 and is named “Kamo’oalewa,” a Hawaiian name which means “an oscillating celestial object.” The asteroid orbits around the Sun in synchronisation with Earth, creating the illusion that it revolves around our planet like the Moon.

This specific mission focuses on exploring the asteroid’s potential lunar origin. Studies of light reflected from Kamo’oalewa indicate it closely resembles lunar rocks collected during the Apollo missions. This leads scientists to believe it can be a fragment of the moon blasted into space by an ancient impact.

Tianwen-2 will have to conduct remote sensing and mapping of the asteroid for several months before attempting to retrieve 20 to 100 grams of samples through touch-and-go and anchoring using drills.

The capsule with the sample is scheduled to return to Earth in November 2027.