Japan To Test Spacecraft Technology To Destroy Asteroid Set To Collide With Earth

The agency is repurposing its Hayabusa2 spacecraft to intercept and deflect an Earth-bound fast-moving asteroid.

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is set to embark on an ambitious mission to test technology capable of intercepting and destroying asteroids that are on a collision course with the Earth. According to the Independent, the agency is repurposing its Hayabusa2 spacecraft to intercept and deflect an Earth-bound fast-moving asteroid.

Launched in December 2014, Hayabusa-2 was initially tasked with intercepting the near-Earth asteroid 162173 Ryugu, which successfully arrived at its destination in June 2018. After surveying the meteor for 18 months, it collected samples of debris by firing a pellet into the asteroid's surface. Those samples were returned to Earth in December 2020, with scientists still examining them for clues about the origins of the universe.

After the successful mission, JAXA engineers announced in December 2020 that the remaining xenon propellant would be used to enable Hayabusa-2 to carry out a fly-by of the asteroid 2002 CC21 in July 2026. Five years later in 2031, Hayabusa2 is slated to fly close to the small school bus-sized fast-spinning asteroid 1998 KY26 whose orbit crosses that of the Earth.