HELSINKI - China has chosen the near-Earth object 202 PN1 as the target for its asteroid deflection and observation test mission in 2026.

In a recent lecture in the 'Science and Innovation China' series, Long Lehao, chief designer of China's Long March rocket series, provided details of the near-Earth asteroid defense system demonstration and verification test mission.

According to a slide presented by Long, the impactor mission will launch in 2026 on a Long March 3B rocket. The mission will include an impactor and an orbiter. As the former impacts near-Earth object 2020 PN1, the latter makes observations.

If correct, the mission appears to be a combination of NASA's DART mission in September, which will collide with Dimorphos, a moon orbiting Didymos, and the European Space Agency's Hera mission, which will observe Didymos and Dimorphos later this decade to determine what effects the DART collision will have.Asteroid Impact and Deflection Assessment (AIDA) is the collaboration between the DART and Hera missions.

China used 2020 PN1 as a target for its test. The asteroid crosses the Earth and is a temporary co-orbital companion to the planet. A 40-meter-diameter asteroid was discovered in 2020 and is estimated to be around 40 years old.While the Long March 3B launcher is primarily used to launch missions to geostationary orbit, it has also been used to launch lunar robotic lander missions.

As part of its plans for a planetary defense system, China has already announced plans to test a kinetic impactor to alter the orbit of a potentially threatening asteroid.Nevertheless, Long's lecture offers the first details on the mission's target and profile that makes it distinct from earlier proposals.

In previous papers, Chinese researchers had described concepts for kinetic impactors, such as the 'Assembled Kinetic Impactor'  and the 'Enhanced Asteroid Deflector,' which would gather materials from near-Earth asteroids before interacting with potentially hazardous ones.

According to the Chinese National Space Administration, the country will create an early warning system, and develop software for simulating operations and testing and verifying basic procedures against near-Earth objects.

His lecture also discussed exploration missions, such as Tianwen-2, a near-Earth asteroid sample-return mission, Tianwen-3, a Mars sample-return mission, and a Jupiter system mission.

Additionally, the document reiterated plans to send two Chinese astronauts to the moon by 2030, introduce a new heavy-lift rocket powered by liquid oxygen and reusable launchers, as well as develop a spaceplane powered by nuclear propulsion.