CHINA PLANS SPACECRAFT IMPACT TEST ON ASTEROID BY 2030

Chinese astronomers are planning to crash a spacecraft into an asteroid designated 2015 XF261 by 2030 as a test of planetary defence methods. The asteroid, approximately 30 metres wide, orbits the Sun in a path similar to Earth's and will fly relatively close to the planet around 2030, according to researchers from the China National Space Administration. If successful, the impact will be monitored to determine how much it alters the asteroid's orbit. The mission aims to demonstrate direct alteration of an asteroid's trajectory around the Sun, a capability the researchers say differs from previous efforts.

The Chinese project will launch two spacecraft simultaneously, with one striking the asteroid at over 26 times the speed of sound whilst the other observes from a safe distance. This approach differs from NASA's 2022 Dart mission, which successfully shifted the asteroid Dimorphos onto an altered path but struck a "rubble pile" space rock rather than a solid asteroid. The China National Space Administration notes in a study currently under review by the Journal of Deep Space Exploration that Dart "did not directly change an asteroid's orbit around the Sun relative to Earth, making it different from a real planetary defence scenario."

Asteroids of this size pose potential threats to Earth, according to researchers. A meteor impact in Tunguska, Siberia, in 1908 flattened extensive forest areas, whilst a 2013 meteor airburst over Chelyabinsk injured approximately 1,500 people. China's mission represents part of a broader effort to develop planetary defence systems capable of protecting against potentially cataclysmic collisions.