China's Space Program Thread II

GulfLander

Brigadier
Registered Member

China plans to hit an asteroid with a Mach 26 projectile in planet defence test​

Spacecraft to hit at 9km/s, equivalent to over 26 times the speed of sound near sea level and nearly 50 per cent faster than Nasa’s mission
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appears to be far more ambitious than Nasa’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (Dart), according to a new paper outlining its plan to slam a spacecraft into an asteroid before 2030.


Unlike
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, a proof-of-concept that nudged one asteroid’s orbit around another, China is aiming for a more realistic planetary-defence test.


It aims to directly alter an asteroid’s orbit relative to Earth, “or even break up its structure”, according to a team led by Li Mingtao, chief scientist for planetary defence at the China National Space Administration.


The spacecraft was expected to hit its target at more than 9km (5.6 miles) per second – compared with Dart’s 6.1km/s – during a close approach to within about 7 million km of Earth in 2029 or 2030, the paper said.
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ZachL111

Junior Member
Registered Member
Well, that statement didn't mention the Chang'e 7 mission either, and that's due to launch next month.
I said it may be delayed, and you could have just read the article...

As usual, details about the upcoming Shenzhou taikonauts
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were not provided, but notably mentions of Mengzhou or its first mission are absent. Its omission from the recap could be indicative that its first mission has been delayed from the end of the year to 2027, probably in the first few months
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should that be the case.

They don't mention all missions each time they put out a press release, but it was expected that in this one, a Mengzhou-1 mission would have been mentioned here. And it is widely known either way that Chang'e 7 is launching likely next month, we don't need a press release every time for it.
 
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