A Japanese space probe has successfully carried out a close fly-by of a near-Earth asteroid in a mission designed to test technology that could one day help protect Earth from potentially dangerous space rocks.
The refrigerator-sized Hayabusa2 passed within about 800 metres of asteroid Torifune on Sunday as part of an experiment led by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.
Scientists say the mission is aimed at evaluating technologies that could be used to alter the path of an asteroid if one were ever found to be on a collision course with Earth.
The test builds on earlier planetary defence efforts, including NASA’s 2022 mission, which deliberately crashed the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft into asteroid Dimorphos. The impact successfully changed the asteroid’s orbit around its larger companion, marking the world’s first successful demonstration of asteroid deflection.
Researchers say missions like Hayabusa2 are helping advance global planetary defence efforts by testing technologies that could one day prevent a catastrophic asteroid impact on Earth.
