Chinese astronomers are developing a mission to crash a spacecraft into the 30-meter-wide asteroid 2015 XF261 by 2030 to test planetary defense capabilities. Unlike NASA’s 2022 DART mission, which targeted a “rubble pile” space rock, this project aims to strike a solid asteroid and measure its orbital shift relative to the Sun, according to a … Read more
China’s Tianwen 2 probe has arrived within 20 kilometers of the asteroid 2016HO3, according to the China National Space Administration (CNSA). The spacecraft reached the near-Earth asteroid after a 400-day, 1-billion-kilometer journey, marking the start of a scientific exploration phase intended to prepare for future sample collection. How did Tianwen 2 navigate to asteroid 2016HO3? … Read more
The New Space Race: From First Footprints to Sample Returns The successful landing of the Zhurong rover on the Utopia Plain wasn’t just a technical victory for the China National Space Administration (CNSA); it was a signal to the world that the “Mars Club” is expanding. For decades, Mars exploration was a slow-burn endeavor, but … Read more