China's Tianwen-2 spacecraft reaches near-Earth asteroid Kamoʻoalewa for sampling mission

Summary

China's Tianwen-2 spacecraft has performed a critical engine burn to rendezvous with the near-Earth asteroid Kamoʻoalewa, a mysterious quasi-moon. Amateur radio observers in Germany and the Netherlands tracked the maneuver after China's space administration had not yet publicly acknowledged the milestone. Over the next four weeks, the spacecraft will approach the rapidly spinning asteroid to study and map its surface, preparing for future sampling attempts. The mission aims to bring China's first asteroid samples back to Earth by 2027.