- China's Tianwen-2 probe has successfully captured and sent back an image of its target, the “quasi-moon” Kamo'oalewa.
- Launched in 2025, the spacecraft - the nation's first asteroid sampling mission - travelled a billion kilometres to reach within 20 km of the quasi moon.
- It will now spend nearly a year studying the asteroid before collecting a sample to return to Earth.
- Taken on July 2, the new photograph reveals Kamo'oalewa to be a small, asymmetrical rock, approximately 16-20 metres in diameter.
- Kamo'oalewa is classified as a “quasi-moon” or quasi-satellite, meaning it orbits the Sun but maintains a close proximity to Earth.
