The Tianwen-2 probe launched in 2025 and traveled 620 million miles (1 billion kilometers) to reach a safe distance about 12 miles (20 km) away from Kamo'oalewa, more formally known as asteroid 2016HO3. The spacecraft will spend nearly a year studying the asteroid with a suite of 11 different scientific instruments before attempting to collect a sample from its surface, which will be sent back to Earth.

The new photo was taken on July 2, according to China's Xinhua news outlet, and reveals the asteroid to be a small, asymmetrical rock measuring around 50–65 feet (16–20 meters) in diameter. While its origin isn't known, some scientists believe this quasi-moon could have been created when a massive impact knocked a chunk of our own moon into space between 1 million and 10 million years ago.