{"id":235697,"date":"2026-06-05T16:25:29","date_gmt":"2026-06-06T02:25:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=235697"},"modified":"2026-06-10T09:12:47","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T19:12:47","slug":"uh-discovered-kamooalewa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2026\/06\/05\/uh-discovered-kamooalewa\/","title":{"rendered":"China spacecraft nears UH<\/abbr>-discovered Kamoʻoalewa"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
\"spacecraft\"
China\u02bbs Tianwen 2 spacecraft taken in October 2025. (Credit: CNSA<\/abbr>\/Handout via Xinhua)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Research that began with a University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> telescope is now leading to a historic milestone in space exploration. This month, China’s Tianwen-2 spacecraft is expected to begin its encounter with Kamoʻoalewa<\/span>, a small near-Earth asteroid discovered by astronomers at the UH<\/abbr> Institute for Astronomy<\/a> (IfA<\/abbr>) on Haleakal\u0101 and the first Hawaiian-named object ever visited by a spacecraft.<\/p>\n

\"telescope\"
Pan-STARRS<\/abbr>1 is the world leader in finding Near-Earth Objects. (Photo credit: Rob Ratkowski\/PS1SC<\/abbr><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The mission connects years of IfA<\/abbr>-led research with an international effort to better understand the object, which scientists believe may be a fragment of the Moon. Kamoʻoalewa<\/span> was first detected in 2016 by the IfA<\/abbr>-operated Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System telescope<\/a> atop Haleakal\u0101.<\/p>\n

“This is a remarkable moment for planetary science,” said Doug Simons, director of IfA<\/abbr>. “A target first identified through observations from Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> is now being visited by a spacecraft, opening the door to discoveries that simply cannot be made from Earth alone. The mission has the potential to reveal how Kamoʻoalewa<\/span> formed and whether it truly originated from the Moon.”<\/p>\n

In 2021, a team led by UH<\/abbr> researchers published findings suggesting Kamoʻoalewa<\/span> may have come from the Moon. Tianwen-2 is expected to arrive at the asteroid before mid June 2026. The spacecraft will study the object up close as part of a mission that aims to collect samples and return them to Earth.<\/p>\n

Inspired by Kumulipo<\/h2>\n
\"people
Hawaiian language students helped name Kamoʻoalewa<\/span> in 2019.
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In 2019, the asteroid received its Hawaiian name through A Hua He Inoa<\/a>, a program based at the UH<\/abbr> Hilo ʻImiloa<\/span> Astronomy Center<\/a> where Hawaiian speaking students and educators work with Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>-based astronomers to create names in ʻōlelo<\/span> Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> (Hawaiian language) for objects discovered by Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>-based observatories. The initiative is a collaboration among ʻImiloa<\/span>, UH<\/abbr> Hilo\u2019s Ka Haka ʻUla<\/span> O Keʻelikōlani<\/span> College of Hawaiian Language<\/a>, IfA<\/abbr> and community members.<\/p>\n

In ʻōlelo<\/span> Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>, Kamoʻoalewa<\/span> alludes to a celestial object that is oscillating, like its path in the sky as viewed from the Earth. It is a name found in the Hawaiian chant Kumulipo.<\/p>\n

“To see a spacecraft travel to an object carrying a Hawaiian name is a reminder that careful observation of the natural world and the pursuit of knowledge have always been central to \u02bbike Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> (Hawaiian knowledge),” said Kaʻiu<\/span> Kimura, executive director of ʻImiloa<\/span> Astronomy Center. “The students who proposed the name Kamoʻoalewa<\/span> thoughtfully considered the possibility that this object was a moʻo<\/span>—an offspring traveling in orbit within our solar system. It is remarkable to see emerging scientific theory lend support to the insight embodied in their naming. This moment highlights the enduring relevance of Hawaiian ways of knowing as we continue to explore and deepen our understanding of the universe.”<\/p>\n

As Tianwen-2 approaches its destination, the mission also shines a light on Â鶹´«Ã½\u2019s<\/span> continued role in planetary exploration. Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> observatories help discover, track and study asteroids, comets and other objects moving through the solar system.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kamoʻoalewa<\/span> is a small near-Earth asteroid discovered by astronomers at the UH<\/abbr> Institute for Astronomy on Haleakal\u0101.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":235718,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[34,1057,292,35,14,9],"class_list":["post-235697","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-research","tag-astronomy","tag-hawaiian-language","tag-imiloa-astronomy-center","tag-institute-for-astronomy","tag-uh-hilo","tag-uh-manoa","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/manoa-ifa-tianwen-2-spacecraft.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/235697","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=235697"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/235697\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":235884,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/235697\/revisions\/235884"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/235718"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=235697"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=235697"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=235697"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}