Two spacecraft from Asia achieved close approaches to separate near-Earth asteroids in early July, returning images that immediately revised scientific understanding of both bodies. Japan’s Hayabusa2 probe flew within a few hundred metres of asteroid Torifune on 5 July, while China’s Tianwen-2 reached a distance of 20 kilometres from asteroid 2016 HO3 after a 400-day journey. The encounters delivered the first high-resolution surface details of each object, with the imagery showing Torifune to be a contact binary—two rounded lobes joined in a snowman-like shape—and suggesting 2016 HO3 is only 20–30 metres across, roughly half the previously estimated 57-metre diameter.

Hayabusa2’s flyby was a planned demonstration of high-speed navigation for planetary defence. Travelling at a relative velocity of 5 kilometres per second, the probe captured a single image one second before the scheduled closest approach, with the distance believed to be under 800 metres. JAXA mission lead Yuya Mimasu described the moment as one of shock and awe at the fleeting encounter. The image reveals a surface strewn with rocks and a morphology consistent with the collision and merger of two small celestial bodies. Simultaneously, the spacecraft’s infrared camera and spectrometer gathered data on surface texture, composition and temperature, which will be transmitted to Earth in stages over the coming weeks.

Tianwen-2, China’s first asteroid sample-return mission, began its scientific exploration programme upon arrival. The initial image, a grey mass with a rough surface, prompted Zhang Pengfei of the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Geochemistry to note that the asteroid appears significantly smaller than earlier radar-based estimates. The spacecraft carries multiple sampling modes designed to operate on uncertain terrain, and it will now conduct progressively detailed observations of the asteroid’s shape, material composition and internal structure before attempting to collect surface material. A capsule containing the samples is later to be released for return to Earth.

Both missions extend national capabilities in small-body exploration and planetary defence. Hayabusa2, launched in 2014, previously returned samples from asteroid Ryugu in 2020 and is now en route to a 2031 rendezvous with asteroid 1998 KY26. China’s Tianwen-2 builds on a 2024 lunar sample-return and forms part of a programme that includes a planned crewed lunar landing by 2030. The next milestones are the full downlink and analysis of Hayabusa2’s flyby data and the start of Tianwen-2’s close-range survey campaign ahead of a sampling attempt.