Pentagon Releases New Batch of UFO Files, China's Tianwen-2 Reaches Its Asteroid Target

Mon, 13 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The past week brought major developments in space and science news, from the Pentagon’s latest release of declassified UFO files to China’s Tianwen-2 probe snapping its first close-up image of a near-Earth asteroid. Here is your roundup of the most interesting science stories you may have missed.

Pentagon Drops Fourth Batch of Declassified UAP Files

Since the beginning of May, the U.S. Department of Defense has been steadily uploading declassified files related to Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAPs) — more commonly known as UFOs — to a public database anyone can search. The fourth batch, released on Friday, includes documents from NASA, the Department of Energy, the CIA, the Department of Defense (formerly the Department of War), and the FBI, with records reaching back decades.

The latest trove contains scans of original paper documents with first-hand accounts of sightings — some accompanied by illustrations and photographs — along with a selection of videos. The administration has reiterated its commitment to transparency regarding government knowledge of UAPs and plans to continue releasing declassified materials on a rolling basis.

Earlier this month, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence announced the formation of a dedicated panel to study UAPs and assess their potential national security risks. The panel will be led by Avi Loeb, a theoretical physicist known for his long-running search for signs of extraterrestrial intelligence and his occasionally controversial claims about possible evidence of alien technology.

Tianwen-2 Snaps First Close-Up of Asteroid Kamo’oalewa

Launched last spring, China’s Tianwen-2 space probe has reached its target: the near-Earth asteroid 2016 HO3, also known as Kamo’oalewa. The China National Space Administration (CNSA) released an image captured from just 12.4 miles (20 kilometers) away, marking the spacecraft’s first close encounter with the object.

Tianwen-2 will spend several months in the asteroid’s vicinity before attempting to land on its surface and collect a sample, scheduled to return to Earth in late 2027. The mission follows successful sample-return efforts by NASA (OSIRIS-REx) and JAXA (Hayabusa2), which have yielded crucial insights into the early conditions of the solar system.

Kamo’oalewa is what astronomers call a quasi-satellite — it orbits the Sun in sync with Earth, looping around our planet without ever venturing very far away. As Paul Chodas, longtime manager of NASA’s Center for Near-Earth Object Studies, explained when the object was identified in 2016, Kamo’oalewa is expected to remain gravitationally bound to Earth’s vicinity for a few hundred more years before eventually drifting off.

The asteroid is relatively small, with an estimated diameter of roughly 100 feet, though observations from Tianwen-2 should enable far more precise measurements in the coming months. After departing from the asteroid next year, the spacecraft will set course for the main-belt comet 311P.

Tianwen-2 on Know the Tech

Pentagon Releases New Batch of UFO Files, China's Tianwen-2 Reaches Its Asteroid Target

Pentagon Drops Fourth Batch of Declassified UAP Files

Tianwen-2 Snaps First Close-Up of Asteroid Kamo’oalewa

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