{"id":2032418,"date":"2026-07-08T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-08T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2032418"},"modified":"2026-07-08T09:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-07-08T06:00:00","slug":"two-spacecraft-deliver-stunning-new-close-up-photos-of-asteroids","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2032418","title":{"rendered":"Two spacecraft deliver stunning new close-up photos of asteroids"},"content":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/helios-i.mashable.com\/imagery\/articles\/07Blid7Hwg7Y50DDDBvdQZA\/hero-image.fill.size_1200x675.v1783460395.png”]<\/p>\n

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Home<\/a>><\/span>Science<\/a>><\/span>Space<\/a><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Japan and China just flew past asteroids. Here’s what they saw.<\/h1>\n
Two space rocks in the space of one week.<\/div>\n
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\n \u00a0By\u00a0<\/p>\n
Elisha Sauers<\/a><\/p>\n
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\"Mashable<\/p>\n
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Elisha Sauers<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n Elisha Sauers writes about space for Mashable, taking deep dives into NASA’s moon and Mars missions<\/a>, chatting up astronauts<\/a> and history-making discoverers<\/a>, and jetting above the clouds<\/a>. Through 17 years of reporting, she’s covered a variety of topics, including health, business, and government, with a penchant for public records requests. She previously worked for The Virginian-Pilot<\/em> in Norfolk, Virginia, and The Capital<\/em> in Annapolis, Maryland. Her work has earned numerous state awards, including the Virginia Press Association’s top honor, Best in Show<\/u><\/a>,\u00a0and national recognition<\/u><\/a> for narrative storytelling. For each year she has covered space, Sauers has won National Headliner Awards<\/u><\/a>, including first place for her Sex in Space<\/a> series. Send space tips and story ideas to [email\u00a0protected]<\/span><\/u><\/a> or text 443-684-2489. Follow her on X at @elishasauers<\/u><\/a>.\n <\/div>\n

Read Full Bio<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Hayabusa2<\/p>\n
Japanese spacecraft Hayabusa2 has a close encounter with a peanut-shaped asteroid, Torifune. <\/span>Credit: JAXA \/ The University of Tokyo \/ Chiba Institute of Technology \/ Institute of Science Tokyo \/ AIST \/ Paris Observatory \/ IAC<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Within just three days of each other, Chinese and Japanese spacecraft got up close and personal with two different asteroids<\/u><\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The China National Space Administration sent Tianwen-2 to visit Kamo’oalewa, a 300-foot-wide rock some call a quasi-moon<\/u><\/a> of Earth, on July 2. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, aka JAXA, sent its Hayabusa2 spacecraft by a 1,500-foot-wide space rock dubbed Torifune on July 5.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The missions, which each scored photos of their targets, show a thirst for knowledge about these dinosaur killers and how to potentially stop them, should one ever be on a collision course with our planet. Though neither of these so-called near-Earth asteroids<\/u><\/a> is a threat, scientists and engineers hope to use these and other close encounters to prepare for potential dangerous ones in the future.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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In a post on X, the European Space Agency congratulated both space<\/u><\/a> programs for their successes while promoting its own Hera mission, a robotic spacecraft on its way to visit Dimorphos<\/u><\/a>, the asteroid NASA<\/u><\/a>‘s DART mission<\/u><\/a> intentionally slammed into for asteroid target practice in 2022.\u00a0<\/p>\n

SEE ALSO:<\/span>Mysterious yellow crystals on Mars may soon have an explanation<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n

Asteroids are the ancient detritus leftover from the formation of the solar system about 4.6 billion years ago. They’re rocky objects that orbit the sun<\/u><\/a>, mostly within the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Unlike planets, asteroids didn’t grow large enough to become worlds of their own. The upshot is that they’ve kept some of that early material intact, serving as time capsules from the dawn of the solar system.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\"Tianwen-2<\/div>\n
After studying Kamo’oalewa for many months, Tianwen-2 will attempt to collect a sample from the asteroid. <\/span>Credit: CNSA \/ Xinhua<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

For Tianwen-2, the journey to Kamo’oalewa took more than a year \u2014 roughly 400 days, according toXinhua<\/u><\/a>, China’s state-run news agency, which released the image Monday. Scientists used navigation data during the approach to refine their knowledge of the asteroid’s orbit. At the time, it was about 26 million miles away from Earth.<\/p>\n

Though Kamo’oalewa, which means “oscillating celestial object” in Hawaiian, doesn’t orbit Earth, it’s sometimes known as a quasi-moon because it takes roughly the same orbital path as the planet around the sun. Some astronomers think it could even be an ancient blown-off piece<\/u><\/a> of Earth from a long-ago collision \u2014 a chip off the old block, as it were.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The spacecraft has come within 12 miles of the asteroid. After studying it for several months, the mission will attempt to collect samples. If successful, China will be the third nation, following Japan and the United States, to bring home bits of asteroid rubble.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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    “Besides the intense scientific interest, this is another step toward utilizing the rich resources of accessible asteroids to boost the human settlement of the Earth-Moon system and beyond,” said Dale Skran, chief operating officer of the National Space Society, in a statement<\/u><\/a>. “This type of exploration also helps us to plan the protection of Earth from larger rogue asteroid impacts.”<\/p>\n

    The Hayabusa2 mission reached asteroid Torifune, named after a god and ship<\/u><\/a> in Japanese mythology, as part of its extended mission. Launched in 2014, the spacecraft has already visited asteroid Ryugu<\/u><\/a> and returned samples to Earth in 2020.<\/p>\n

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    Views of 2 new asteroids! The Hera team congratulates @JAXA_en<\/a> 's Hayabusa2 for flying by 450-m diameter Torifune (l) and @CNSA_en<\/a>'s Tianwen2 for arriving at tiny 18-m Kamo\u02bboalewa (r). <\/p>\n

    Hera reaches Dimorphos this autumn – the 1st asteroid to have been changed by human action! pic.twitter.com\/sdHgvAm3w9<\/a><\/p>\n

    — ESA's Hera mission (@ESA_Hera) July 7, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n