China's Tianwen-2 spacecraft reaches 'mini moon' asteroid Kamoʻoalewa

China's Tianwen-2 spacecraft has successfully reached the near-Earth asteroid 469219 Kamoʻoalewa, also known as 2016 HO3. This quasi-satellite, which orbits the sun in sync with Earth, is between 130 and 330 feet in diameter. The mission, launched in May 2025, will spend approximately nine months mapping the asteroid and collecting at least 100 grams of samples for return to Earth by November 2027. Following this, Tianwen-2 will embark on a journey to comet 311P/PANSTARRS, with an expected arrival in January 2035. AI

RANK_REASON Spacecraft arrival at a celestial body for scientific study. [lever_c_demoted from research: ic=1 ai=0.1]

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• 311P/PANSTARRS
• Callisto
• China
• China National Space Administration
• Forbes
• Jupiter
• Mars
• The Planetary Society
• Tianwen-1
• Tianwen-2
• Tianwen-3
• Uranus
• Xichang Satellite Launch Center
• Zhurong

• other

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