It is still unknown which asteroid the device will hit.
China plans to launch a mission to change the orbit of potentially dangerous for the asteroid Earth. The launch will take place no earlier than 2025 as part of a larger strategy to protect the planet, according to Space.com.
Yes, according to reports, the Chinese National Space Administration will crash into a potentially dangerous asteroid and change its orbit. The purpose of this mission has not yet been determined. “Potentially Dangerous” is a term that combines a set of space rock characteristics that determine a higher risk of collision with Earth, although no direct threats have been identified.
Read also: Scientists have found the youngest pair of asteroids in the solar system
China is also working on a planetary protection plan that includes technical research and studies of systems that can be used to deflect Earth orbits.
Plans to protect the Earth from asteroids followed the release of the White Paper in January. It states that China plans to “create systems to protect objects approaching the Earth, as well as increase the capacity for monitoring, cataloging, early warning and response to objects approaching the Earth in the period 2021-2025.”
China operates in outer space independently of other countries and agencies. He has been repeatedly criticized, for example, for the uncontrolled fall of the Long March 5B accelerator in 2021. In addition, NASA “may not engage in any bilateral operations with China or Chinese companies.”
China has recently been active in planetary defense, including its first Planetary Defense Conference in October 2021, “with meetings, documents and presentations on a number of related issues.”
Recall November 24, 2021 NASA launches DART mission . In September this year, DART is to crash into Dimorph – a satellite of the asteroid Didim. This will be the first demonstration of the agency's strategy to protect the Earth from asteroids.
The spacecraft will crash into the asteroid's satellite to change its trajectory. The impact is expected to change Dimorph's speed around Didim by only 1%. This, in turn, will change the orbital period of the object by a few minutes, which can be seen with ground-based telescopes.
The collision will be humanity's first attempt to change the dynamics of celestial bodies in the solar system.
The dual system was opened in 1996. It consists of two celestial bodies: Didymus with a diameter of about 780 meters, and Dimorph, whose diameter is estimated at 160 meters. In September 2022, the system will be relatively close to Earth and will be at a distance of 11 million kilometers from it.
