The China National Space Agency (CNSA) announced two years ago that it would also conduct an asteroid deflection mission by 2030. CNSA's target is the 30-meter-diameter asteroid 2015 XF261. Although it may be considered small, if an asteroid this large were to hit Earth it could have a major impact like an atomic bomb.
Last weekend, CNSA shared more details about a mission similar to the one Bruce Willis took in the movie Armageddon as early as 2029 or 2030. The asteroid 2015 XF261 will be deflected by hitting it with an object at a speed of about 32,444 km/h, which is faster than the 22,016 km/h impact carried out by NASA's DART mission.
DART is the first successful asteroid deflection mission by humans in 2022. The data collected confirmed that the stadium-sized (170 meters) asteroid Dimorphos was deflected by 1.7 degrees per hour after being hit by DART. This Chinese mission is different because 2015 XF261 is believed to be more solid than Dimorphos.
If the Chinese mission is also successful, in the future if the Earth is hit by an asteroid the world will have two attempts to deflect its course. We don't have to worry about going extinct like the dinosaurs due to the Chicxulub impact 66 million years ago.
