Earth has small entities trailing its solar orbit, with the possibility they stem from lunar origin due to blasted fragments.
In a groundbreaking discovery, a team of researchers led by Sfair has proposed that the quasi-satellite Kamo'oalewa, and potentially other temporary Earth co-orbital mini-moons, may have originated as fragments ejected from the Moon's surface during past impacts.
The team's findings, published in the August 2025 issue of a certain website, are based on comprehensive simulations of 54,000 particles being ejected from across the entire globe of the Moon. These simulations agree with the possibility that Kamo'oalewa was flung off the Moon, specifically by the impact that created the Giordano Bruno crater, approximately 22km (14 miles) in diameter and believed to have been formed around 4 million years ago.
One key detail supporting this origin is spectral evidence. Kamo'oalewa's surface composition matches space-weathered lunar basalt, indicating it came from the Moon rather than typical asteroid-belt origins. Another supporting factor is the simulations, which showed that ejecta can frequently escape the Moon, and some (~20%) may eventually become temporarily bound objects (TBOs) or mini-moons orbiting Earth, such as Kamo'oalewa.
Kamo'oalewa, about 50 meters in diameter, maintains a quasi-satellite orbit—meaning it orbits the Sun but stays near Earth, co-orbiting in a stable trajectory. This behaviour, combined with its lunar-like composition, strengthens the hypothesis that some of Earth's co-orbital bodies may have originated from the Moon.
The China's Tianwen-2 mission, launched in May 2025, aims to collect and return a sample of Kamo'oalewa to Earth for analysis. If the mission is successful, we might know by 2028 whether Kamo'oalewa is actually a fragment of the Moon. The Tianwen-2 mission is partly motivated by Kamo'oalewa's suspected lunar origin, as it aims to confirm this by analyzing returned samples.
Interestingly, the research suggests that material is most likely to become captured as a co-orbital object if it is ejected from the trailing (western) side of the Moon and near the equator.
This new research strengthens the hypothesis that some of Earth's co-orbital bodies may have originated from the Moon, marking a shift from the earlier assumption that such bodies mainly originate from the asteroid belt. The findings are sure to spark further interest and research in this fascinating area of space exploration.
- The investigations in environmental-science, particularly the study of Earth's co-orbital mini-moons, have a significant connection to the space-and-astronomy field as the new research indicates that some of these co-orbital bodies may have originated from the Moon.
- Theteam's findings in the field of scientific study, which include the identification of Kamo'oalewa as a potential Moon fragment, also impact the health-and-wellness sector, since understanding the Moon's impact history could provide insights into the origins of Earth's natural resources.
