China’s Tianwen 2 spacecraft has reached its target near-Earth asteroid, designated 2016 HO3, and begun conducting scientific observations following a 400-day journey covering approximately 1 billion kilometers, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) announced on Monday.

The robotic probe arrived at a position roughly 20 kilometers from the asteroid last week and commenced flying alongside it to carry out detailed surveys. The CNSA released images captured by Tianwen 2’s onboard camera, marking the first close-up views of 2016 HO3 obtained by the mission.

Tianwen 2, launched on May 29, 2025, aboard a Long March 3B rocket from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan province, represents China’s inaugural effort to collect pristine asteroid samples for return to Earth. During its voyage, the probe performed a series of deep-space maneuvers and midcourse corrections. It detected the asteroid on June 6, and the following day initiated capture control to align its trajectory with the asteroid's movement at a distance of 30,000 kilometers. By June 19, the spacecraft had closed the gap to about 2,000 kilometers.

The asteroid 2016 HO3, also known as 469219 Kamoa’olewa, is classified as a quasi-satellite of Earth. It orbits the Sun while maintaining a stable, close relationship with Earth, although it remains too distant to be considered a true satellite.

As part of its mission objectives, Tianwen 2 will systematically explore the asteroid’s surface and internal structure using a suite of 11 scientific instruments, including cameras, spectrometers, and radars. These observations aim to provide comprehensive data on the asteroid’s topography and material composition to support the planned sampling operation.

Additionally, the mission team has utilized optical navigation data gathered during the approach phase to significantly improve the asteroid’s positional accuracy. Prior estimates, based solely on ground-based observations, had errors of several hundred kilometers; the new data reduced this uncertainty to within a few kilometers.

Tianwen 2’s ongoing studies and eventual sampling of 2016 HO3 are expected to advance understanding of near-Earth objects and contribute valuable material for analysis, furthering China’s capabilities in deep space exploration.