China has released the first image of Kamoʻoalewa, the mysterious asteroid often called Earth’s “quasi moon.” The image offered the public its first close-up look at one of the planet’s most unusual celestial companions.
The image was captured by China’s Tianwen-2 spacecraft, which is currently travelling toward the asteroid on a landmark sample-return mission expected to reshape scientists’ understanding of near-Earth objects and the early Solar System.
Tianwen-2 launched in May 2026 and is expected to rendezvous with Kamoʻoalewa in mid-2027. The spacecraft will collect samples from the asteroid before returning them to Earth in 2029. It will then continue toward comet 311P/PANSTARRS in an extended mission.
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What does the Earth’s quasi moon look like?
Despite being nicknamed a “quasi moon,” Kamoʻoalewa is not a true moon orbiting Earth. Instead, it follows the Sun while moving in a stable orbital pattern that keeps it relatively close to Earth over long periods
The new photo was taken on July 2, according to China’s Xinhua news outlet.
The image shows Kamoʻoalewa as a small, dim object against the darkness of space. The picture reveals the asteroid to be a tiny, uneven rock with a diameter of about 50–65 feet (16–20 meters). Scientists say the asteroid is still millions of kilometres away from Tianwen-2, hence making it appear as only a faint point of light.
Although the origin of this quasi-moon is unknown, some scientists speculate that it may have formed between 1 and 10 million years ago when a large impact propelled a portion of our own moon into space.
Astronomers first discovered Kamoʻoalewa in 2016 using the Pan-STARRS telescope in Hawaii. The asteroid takes nearly the same amount of time as Earth to orbit the Sun, creating the illusion that it circles our planet while actually remaining gravitationally bound to the Sun.
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Scientists hope samples will solve the mystery
The Tianwen-2 mission aims to collect material without significantly disturbing the asteroid. Mission planners have developed several sampling techniques because Kamoʻoalewa’s weak gravity makes landing and sample collection especially challenging.
Engineers will decide the safest approach after closely mapping the asteroid’s surface.
Researchers are particularly interested in whether Kamoʻoalewa may have originated from the Moon. These samples have already yielded unexpected scientific findings, such as the presence of amino acids that are thought to be essential for life on Earth.
If successful, Tianwen-2 will become China’s first asteroid sample-return mission and only the latest in a growing international effort to study primitive Solar System bodies.
