At the 3rd Tiandu International Conference on Deep Space Exploration, Wu Weiren, chief designer of China’s lunar program, announced that China is preparing a kinetic impact mission to test asteroid defense strategies. The objective is to determine whether striking an asteroid with a spacecraft can alter its orbit and provide a viable method of planetary defense.
The mission will follow a “fly-along + impact + fly-along” model, launching both an observer spacecraft and an impactor. The observer will arrive first to conduct detailed surveys of the target asteroid’s size, shape, and orbit. The impactor will then collide with the asteroid at high speed. The entire process will be monitored by ground- and space-based instruments, using high-speed imaging and other techniques to measure orbital shifts, structural changes, and the behavior of ejected material.
Source: Sputnik, September 6, 2025
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