Near-Earth asteroid Kamo'oalewa imaged from a distance of 20 km by Tianwen-2, July 2, 2026. Credit: CNSA

HELSINKI — China’s Tianwen-2 sample return spacecraft has arrived at Kamoʻoalewa, revealing the near Earth asteroid to be a small, elongated rocky body.

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Andrew Jones writes about China's space industry, including civilian programs, space science and exploration, policy, and commercial developments for SpaceNews, and writes the China Report newsletter. He has additional bylines in Scientific American,...