China Targets 30-Meter Asteroid With 2-Spacecraft Impact Mission by 2030
Updated
Updated · upday UK · Jul 20
China Targets 30-Meter Asteroid With 2-Spacecraft Impact Mission by 2030
3 articles · Updated · upday UK · Jul 20
Summary
China plans to launch two spacecraft before 2030 to strike near-Earth asteroid 2015 XF261 at more than 9 km per second while a second probe observes the encounter.
The mission targets an asteroid about 30 meters wide passing roughly 7 million km from Earth in 2029 or 2030, with no known collision risk, to test real planetary-defense deflection.
One craft will fly directly into the asteroid, while the observer will use a Venus gravity assist to study its shape, rotation, surface and internal structure before and after impact.
Engineers must autonomously hit the small target without real-time control from Earth, then verify the trajectory change and ensure the new path still poses no danger to Earth.
The combined operation goes beyond NASA's 2022 DART test by aiming to alter an asteroid's path relative to Earth and folding DART- and Hera-style measurements into one mission.