An image of asteroid 2016 HO3 taken by China's Tianwen-2 probe from approximately 20 kilometers away on July 2, 2026. Photo: Courtesy of CNSA

China's Tianwen-2 probe has successfully rendezvoused with the near-Earth asteroid Kamoʻoalewa, or 2016 HO3, reaching a distance of about 20 kilometers from the asteroid and officially commencing scientific exploration, the Global Times learned from the China National Space Administration (CNSA) on Monday.

The milestone follows a roughly 400-day journey covering approximately 1 billion kilometers in deep space.
During its approach, Tianwen-2 captured imaging data of the asteroid. Using optical navigation data collected during the close approach, the mission team significantly refined the asteroid's ephemeris, reducing its positional uncertainty which previously determined solely through ground-based observations from more than 100 kilometers to the kilometer level.

The spacecraft was launched from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Southwest China's Sichuan Province on May 29, 2025. During its cruise to the asteroid, it completed a series of key maneuvers, including deep-space trajectory adjustments and mid-course corrections.

On June 6, Tianwen-2 first detected asteroid 2016 HO3. A day later, at a distance of about 30,000 kilometers, it executed a capture control maneuver, enabling coplanar flight with the asteroid. By June 19, the probe had approached to within 2,000 kilometers.

In the next phase of the mission, Tianwen-2 will carry out increasingly detailed scientific observations to study the asteroid's surface morphology, material composition, and internal structure, providing essential data to support the mission's upcoming sample collection.

The updated ephemeris data for asteroid 2016 HO3 has been released through China's Lunar and Planetary Data Release System.