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.

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.