China to implement near-earth asteroid defense with combined observation, impact

HEFEI, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) — China’s first near-Earth asteroid (NEA) defense mission is expected to observe an asteroid closely before impacting it to alter its orbit around 2030, according to a key engineer in the country’s space industry.
The blueprint for the country’s asteroid defense involves two spacecraft — an impactor and an observer — launched into space with one rocket, said Tang Yuhua, deputy chief designer of Chang’e-7 Mission on Thursday.
The observer will first move around the small asteroid to be targeted, for the purposes of detection, before guiding the impactor from afar to strike it. After the kinetic impact, the observer will further have an accompanying flight with the very asteroid that changes its orbit, according to Tang.
In September 2022, a single NASA spacecraft slammed into an asteroid in a test called DART to protect Earth in case of an asteroid impact threat. About two weeks later, NASA confirmed that the DART mission changed the asteroid’s motion.
The potential impact of near-Earth asteroids on Earth is a major threat to the long-term sustainable development of mankind, and the research and development of defense technology is an important initiative to promote the building of a community with a shared future for mankind in outer space.
The Deep Space Exploration Lab (DSEL) is currently conducting on a global campaign soliciting proposals for more plans for asteroid defense design and modeling, including target selection, orbit design and specific solutions.
“We sincerely look forward to your active participation, integrating your creativity and ideas into these tracks,” said Wu Weiren, director general of the DSEL, in the invitation letter. ■