A mission of the Chinese space agency will launch two probes to meet a small asteroid: one to observe and collect data and one to collide at high speed with the celestial body, and alter its orbit by just 3 to 5 centimeters-enough to divert it from the earth if it came here.
Asteroids are sometimes described as “fossils” of the solar system, containing metals such as iron, nickel and platinum that can reveal clues about planet formation.
But the asteroids close to Earth () also represent one of the higher existential threats For humanity: Even an object with only a few hundred meters in diameter could cause widespread damage if it collided with our planet.
Geological records show that impacts of this genre have already happened in the past – and probably will happen again.
According to, the Chinese government is preparing to Test a direct method of planetary defensesending a probe to collide with an asteroid and change the trajectory.
Wu Weirenchief engineer of China’s Lunar Exploration Program, announced that this year a demonstration mission is scheduled to kinetic impactalthough a concrete release date has not yet been released.
If so, China the second country will becomeafter the United States, being able to change the orbit of a heavenly object.
The Mission Plan
Wu explained that the test will focus on a small asteroid Located tens of millions of kilometers from Earth. The mission will resort to two probes: One to observe and collect data and one to collide at high speed with the asteroid. The event will be monitored by telescopes on the ground and space.
The goal will be change the orbit of the asteroid only between 3 and 5 centimeters.
Although this is a minimal change, it serves to demonstrate the principle of planetary defense: If these changes are made in advance, even small variations can avoid a collision which could otherwise happen years later.
Wu has even delineated a broader plan for a Chinese asteroid defense system, which will include Early alert, orbit response and coordinated preparation.
Stressed that The kinetic impact will be the main approachbut admitted that in the future they could be other technologies integrated. Wu also expressed interest in sharing data and collaborating with other countries in the creation of a joint planetary defense capacity.
Then the steps of DART
China’s plan arises almost Three years after the Dart Mission (Double Asteroid Redirection Test) of NASA, which in September 2022 a probe with the asteroid Dimorphos, which became deformed and changed orbit.
The mission got shorten in 33 minutes the orbit of dimorphos around your main body, didymos – a result far beyond expectations of the scientists.
Dart was the first mission to demonstrate that it is possible divert an asteroid, transforming the planetary defense of a theoretical concept into a practical technique, note.
If China realizes your test, will give a second example – This time from a country that is quickly advancing in its deep space exploration program.
O Chinese space program has registered quick progress in recent years. The probe, launched in May, will collect samples from the asteroide 2016 HO3 and later investigate a comet of the waist of asteroids.
As Chinese lunar missions They have already placed land modules, exploration vehicles and orbiting. The asteroid deviation test represents a new step: from exploration to planetary defense.
The importance of planetary defense
Advances in detection technology have allowed more and more objects close to Earth to identify. By 2021, they were already cataloged More than 26 thousand neosmore than 2,100 of which considered potentially dangerous by NASA.
Most do not represent an immediate threat, but even a small number can constitute a significant risk.
Os geological records of the earth They show well the consequences of asteroid impacts. THE extinction of dinosaurs, 66 million years ago, It was caused by the impact of the mythical, an asteroid about 10 kilometers in diameter – which could.
In 2013, an asteroid with only 20 meters in Russia, injuring more than a thousand people. This episode showed that even small asteroids can cause major damage to inhabited zones.
Planetary defense experts underline the need for overall preparation.
In 2023, the United States published a national planetary defense strategy with a ten -year plan to improve detection, modeling and response to asteroid threats. Like the impacts can affect the entire planetinternational cooperation is essential.
China’s announcement shows well Combination of rivalry and collaboration In this domain: reflects the Technological competition with the USAbut also evidences, as Wu stressed, that protecting the earth from asteroids is a task that can only be fully fulfilled.
It is not yet certain if the Chinese mission will be released this year, as there is no scheduled date. Even so, the efforts of China and the US to divert asteroids represent significant progress. Planetary defense is becoming a practical field of space science and engineering.
