China signals new target for 2027 asteroid deflection test

STOCKHOLM, Sweden — China has identified a new target near-Earth asteroid for its first planetary defense kinetic test mission, which is scheduled to launch in December 2027.

Long Lehao, a senior official with the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) and a chief designer of China's Long March rocket series, presented a slide at the 2026 Commercial Aerospace Industry Development Conference in Shenzhen, south China, indicating that the redirect test mission would target asteroid 2016 WP8. While not an official declaration, it provides a rare and likely authoritative update consistent with earlier mission profiles.

2016 WP8 is a small Aten-class asteroid, meaning it crosses Earth's orbit but spends most of its orbit inside that of the Earth's. The planetary defense test and verification mission will launch on a Long March 3B rocket from Xichang Satellite Launch Center and carry separate impactor and observer spacecraft.