The Tianwen-2 spacecraft from China has made history as the inaugural mission to arrive at the enigmatic asteroid Kamoʻoalewa, a quasi-satellite that circles Earth. It provided humanity with its first detailed images on July 6, 2026. This finding holds significant implications for American researchers: Kamoʻoalewa is speculated by some scientists to be a remnant ejected from the Moon due to a primordial collision, suggesting it could offer insights into the Moon's geological past. NASA had intended to launch its own OSIRIS-APEX mission to this asteroid but ultimately scrapped the plan due to budgetary constraints, leaving the US without any spacecraft at the site, while China successfully does.
