China's Tian wen 2 asteroid sampling spacecraft has rendezvoused with its target, a near-Earth asteroid called 2016 HO3, and has started to conduct scientific surveys, according to the China National Space Administration.
国家航天局消息，中国天问二号小行星采样探测器已抵达目标近地小行星 2016 HO3，开启科学探测工作。

The administration announced on Monday that the Tian wen 2 robotic probe reached a position about 20 kilometers away from 2016 HO3 last week, and then started flying alongside the asteroid.
该局于周一发布消息称，天问二号无人探测器上周抵达距离 2016 HO3 小行星约 20 公里的轨道位置，随后开启伴飞模式。

It also released an image of 2016 HO3, which was taken by the spacecraft's camera.
航天局同步发布了探测器搭载相机拍摄的 2016 HO3 小行星实拍影像。

Before that point, the spacecraft had traveled around 1 billion km in a 400-day interplanetary journey, the administration noted, adding that in the following steps, the probe will conduct detailed scientific explorations in a phased manner to acquire data on the asteroid's topography, material composition and internal structure to support preparations for the sampling mission.
航天局介绍，探测器历时 400 天、飞行约 10 亿公里完成地外星际航行。后续探测器将分阶段开展精细化科学探测，获取小行星地形地貌、物质成分与内部结构相关数据，为采样任务做好前置准备。

During its asteroid approach, the Tian wen 2 probe obtained images of the celestial body. The mission team on the ground used optical navigation data, which was collected during the approach process, to refine the asteroid's ephemeris and reduce its position error — previously determined solely by ground-based observations — from hundreds of kilometers down to within a few kilometers, according to the administration.
据介绍，天问二号在抵近小行星阶段持续拍摄天体图像。地面测控团队依托抵近过程获取的光学导航数据优化小行星星历，将此前仅依靠地面观测测算、达数百公里的定位误差缩小至数公里以内。

The Tianwen 2 mission, which is China's first attempt to bring pristine asteroid samples to Earth, was launched on May 29, 2025, when a Long March 3B rocket carrying the robotic probe blasted off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan province.
天问二号任务是我国首次开展小行星原样采样返回工程。该探测器于 2025 年 5 月 29 日，由长征三号乙运载火箭在四川西昌卫星发射中心发射升空。

En route to the asteroid, the probe conducted a series of operations, including deep-space maneuvers and midcourse corrections.
在奔赴小行星的飞行途中，探测器完成多轮深空机动与轨道中途修正操作。

The craft detected and identified the asteroid for the first time on June 6. The following day, it executed capture control to synchronize its motion with that of the asteroid at a distance of 30,000 km, achieving coplanar flight with the celestial body. It reached a position about 2,000 km from the asteroid on June 19.
6 月 6 日，探测器首次捕获并识别目标小行星；次日，探测器在 3 万公里距离处实施捕获控制，实现与小行星同轨共面飞行；6 月 19 日，探测器抵至距离小行星约 2000 公里处。

The asteroid 2016 HO3, which is also known as 469219 Kamo'oalewa, orbits the sun and is a constant companion of Earth. It is too distant to be considered a true satellite of Earth, but is the best and most stable example to date of a quasi-satellite.
编号 2016 HO3 的小行星又名 469219 卡莫奥莱瓦，环绕太阳运行，长期伴随地球。该天体距离地球较远，不属于地球天然卫星，却是目前已知最典型、轨道最稳定的地球准卫星。

Tian wen 2 will study the celestial body up close using a suite of 11 instruments, including cameras, spectrometers and radars, before deploying special devices to collect samples from its surface.
天问二号搭载共 11 台套载荷，包含光学相机、光谱仪、雷达等设备，将近距离观测该小行星，之后释放专用采样装置采集地表样本。

spacecraft /ˈspeɪskrɑːft/n. 航天器，探测器
asteroid /ˈæstərɔɪd/n. 小行星
ephemeris /ɪˈfemərɪs/n. 星历表
spectrometer /spekˈtrɒmɪtə(r)/n. 光谱仪