China is planning a groundbreaking experiment to alter the trajectory of a small near-Earth asteroid by crashing a spacecraft into it at high speed. This bold mission, similar to NASA’s recent DART project, is scheduled to take place no earlier than 2027.
Details of the upcoming Chinese mission were recently published in the Journal of Deep Space Exploration. In addition to changing the asteroid’s trajectory, the mission aims to study the ancient cosmic body to gain insights into its origin.
Originally slated to launch a pair of spacecraft in 2025 to change the path of asteroid 2019 VL5, China has now selected asteroid 2015 XF261 as the target for the mission. The launch has been postponed to 2027 as plans are being adjusted based on the latest data.
The chosen asteroid, 2015 XF261, measures about 30 meters in size and passed by Earth at a distance of 50 million kilometers on July 9. This near-Earth asteroid orbits close to our planet and is expected to make another close approach on February 21, 2025.
Out of the 31,000 known near-Earth asteroids, approximately 2,300 are classified as potentially dangerous due to their close proximity to Earth. The selected asteroid for the Chinese mission does not pose an immediate threat, but the experiment will demonstrate techniques to divert space bodies in case a future asteroid is on a collision course with Earth.
The Chinese mission will involve sending two spacecraft to the orbit of the asteroid for a period of three to six months. One spacecraft will conduct observations to study the size, shape, composition, and orbit of the asteroid. The second spacecraft, a kinetic impactor, will collide with the asteroid at high speed. The observation spacecraft will then monitor the impact results for six to twelve months.
This mission follows a successful endeavor by NASA in September 2022 as part of the DART (Double Asteroid Redirection Test) project, where a small asteroid was redirected from its orbital path. The upcoming Chinese mission combines elements of both NASA missions, with two spacecraft being launched simultaneously to gather more data on asteroid deflection techniques and to explore the origins of the solar system through the study of ancient cosmic objects.