All about China
China is planning its first mission to impact an asteroid in the name of Earth security. The target chosen by the China National Space Administration (CNSA) is expected to be an object about 30 meters wide known as 2015 XF261.
The Planetary Society, a nonprofit organization, highlighted that this is the latest development in asteroid impact mission planning for China, a country increasingly interested in planetary defense.
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In a recent article published in Deep Space Exploration JournalThe NGO discussed proposals for “China’s first in-orbit investigation and defense mission against near-Earth asteroids.” According to the study, a “defensive disposal demonstration” will be conducted to simulate the potential risk of a near-Earth asteroid impacting Earth.
According to the spaceThe mission is scheduled to last until 2030 and will have two purposes: One spacecraft will collide with the asteroid, while another will observe the space rock to learn more about the formation of the solar system.
The initiative also follows in the footsteps of another pioneering NASA-led planetary defense mission, the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART), which in September 2022 successfully deflected the asteroid Dimorphos.
Asteroid targeted by China passes close to Earth
- According to the Small Object Database managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), asteroid 2015 XF261 last made a relatively close approach to Earth on Tuesday, July 9.
- It passed 50 million kilometers from our planet at a speed of about 42,000 kilometers per hour, or about 30 times faster than the speed of sound.
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