China's Spacecraft Reaches Kamo'oalewa Asteroid: New Challenges in Historic Mission

China's Tianwen-2 spacecraft has reached Kamo'oalewa, an asteroid considered a 'half-moon' of Earth, and sent back the first close-up image ever taken. However, initial data suggests that the asteroid's loose structure and rapid rotation may make the sample collection task more difficult than planned. The China National Space Administration's (CNSA) Tianwen-2 spacecraft entered the orbit of Kamo'oalewa and recorded the asteroid's first close-up image. The spacecraft shared the image taken from about 20 kilometers away from the asteroid. Also known as 2016 HO3, Kamo'oalewa is one of the seven known 'half-moons' of Earth. These celestial bodies do not orbit Earth; instead, they move in tandem with our planet as they orbit the Sun, giving the appearance of being gravitationally bound to Earth. However, this situation is temporary and will eventually drift away from Earth.