After NASA‘s successful planetary defense test in 2022, ChinaThe space agency plans to launch a spacecraft by 2030 that will redirect an asteroid near Earth.
In a recent articleThe Chinese National Space Science Center has announced that it has selected asteroid 2015 XF261 for a kinetic impact deflection test.
China’s spacecraft will initially orbit the asteroid for about 3 to 6 months, using four onboard instruments to study its size and composition. The spacecraft will carry four scientific instruments: a spectral and 3D detector, a color camera, radar, and dust and particle analyzer.
NASA’S ASTEROID DESTRUCTION MISSION CONTINUES AS PROOF BATTERY-RAM OPTION WORKS TO DEFEND EARTH
After investigating the asteroid, the spacecraft will fly into it and act as an impactor or battering ram. After the impact, China will observe changes in the asteroid’s orbit for six to twelve months.
NASA’s Double Asteroid Divert Test was called a successful first planetary defense test after the spacecraft was able to alter the orbit of a moon, Dimorphos, around its parent asteroid, Didymos, by about 32 minutes, or 4%.
A study published earlier this year estimated that the The DART impact ejected about 1% of Dimorphos’ mass into space and displaced about 8% of the asteroid’s mass onto its rocky body.
a European The space agency’s spacecraft, called HERA, is expected to launch in October to visit Didymos and Dimorphos and study the impact zone up close. HERA should arrive at the pair in 2026 and confirm how much DART has changed the asteroid’s surface.
China plans to launch its planetary defense spacecraft in 2027.
Source original article: China plans mission to divert asteroid for planetary defense test