New research questions asteroid Kamo'oalewa's lunar origin before China's Tianwen-2 mission arrives

New research challenges the lunar origin of asteroid Kamo'oalewa, the target of China's Tianwen-2 mission. A recent study suggests Kamo'oalewa's red spectrum, previously linked to lunar soil, may instead be from space-weathered meteorite material. This finding emerged from laser simulations on meteorite powder. China's Tianwen-2 spacecraft launched in May 2025 and is expected to return samples in late 2027. The asteroid is a small quasi-satellite near Earth.