Japan to test technology to destroy ‘small and fast’ asteroid set to collide with Earth
- Japan’s space agency has repurposed its Hayabusa-2 spacecraft to intercept two distant asteroids and test technology to destroy another
- The agency JAXA also plans for the spacecraft to attach a target marker to the asteroid in an effort to gain a greater understanding of such bodies
Japan’s space exploration agency has repurposed its Hayabusa-2 spacecraft to intercept two distant asteroids and to start testing the technology required for a man-made vehicle to destroy an asteroid that is on a collision course with the Earth.
Launched in December 2014, Hayabusa-2 initially had a six-year mission to intercept the near-Earth asteroid, 162173 Ryugu. Hayabusa-2 arrived at its destination in June 2018, and surveyed the meteor for around 18 months. It also collected samples of debris by firing a pellet into the asteroid’s surface and drawing in the materials that were thrown up.
The samples were returned to Earth in a capsule that landed in the Australian outback in December 2020. Scientists are still examining the samples for clues of the origins of the universe.
After the spacecraft succeeded at its primary mission, JAXA engineers announced in December 2020 that they would use the remaining xenon propellant to enable Hayabusa-2 to carry out a fly-by in July 2026 of the asteroid 2002 CC21, which has a diameter of around 500 metres and is 12.4 million km (7.7 million miles) from Earth, before continuing to its final destination, 1998 KY26.
A nearly spherical asteroid, 1998 KY26 is 30 metres in diameter and is currently orbiting the sun with a minimum distance to Earth of around 374,000km. The spacecraft is expected to meet the asteroid in 2031, JAXA said.
