2015 XF261
| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovery date | 8 December 2015 (Initial reported obs.) |
| Designations | |
| Orbital characteristics[2] | |
| Epoch 21 November 2025 (JD 2461000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 1 | |
| Observation arc | 2,991 days |
| Aphelion | 1.306 AU |
| Perihelion | 0.674 AU |
| 0.990 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.319 |
| 0.985 years | |
| 126.230° | |
| 1.001°/day | |
| Inclination | 0.794° |
| 209.818° | |
| 100.882° | |
| Earth MOID | 0.00244 AU |
| Jupiter MOID | 3.928 AU |
| Physical characteristics | |
| 25.25[2] | |
2015 XF261 is an Aten-type near-Earth asteroid with an estimated diameter of around 16 m (52 ft). It completes one orbit around the Sun every 359.7 days, placing it near the 1:1 mean-motion resonance with Earth. It is the target asteroid for a planned asteroid redirect mission by the China National Space Administration (CNSA).
Orbit
[edit]2015 XF261 is a near-Earth asteroid following an elliptical orbit around the Sun, with a semi-major axis of 0.99 astronomical units (AU), an orbital period of about 359.7 days, and an orbital inclination of 0.79°. Due to an orbital eccentricity of 0.32, its distance from the Sun varies from 0.67 AU at perihelion to 1.31 AU at aphelion.[2] Since it is an Earth-crossing asteroid with a semi-major axis under 1 AU, it is classified as an Aten asteroid.[2][3] Its orbital period nearly matches with Earth's, placing it in a near-1:1 mean-motion resonance with Earth.[4]: 2
2029 mission
[edit]2015 XF261 is the target for an asteroid-deflecting mission planned by China in 2029, launching in 2027, two years after its previous launch target of 2025. Its original target was 2019 VL5. The spacecraft is planned to be launched on a Long March 3B in 2027, making a flyby of Venus before arriving at the asteroid in early 2029, and colliding with the asteroid in April 2029 at an estimated speed of 10 km/s (6.2 mi/s).[5]
See also
[edit]- Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART), another asteroid-deflecting mission which collided with Dimorphos
References
[edit]- ↑ "2015 XF261". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 9 November 2025.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) (38 obs) - 1 2 3 4 "JPL Small-Body Database Lookup: (2015 XF261)" (2024-02-15 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 16 April 2026.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "NEO Groups". NASA/JPL Near-Earth Object Program Office. Archived from the original on 2 February 2002. Retrieved 4 June 2012.
- ↑ Zhang, Nan; Wu, Di; Zhang, Zhong; Li, Haiyang; Baoyin, Hexi (April 2025). "Preliminary trajectory design of implementing the asteroid rendezvous and impact in a single launch". Aerospace Science and Technology. 159. doi:10.1016/j.ast.2025.109959.
- ↑ Foust, Jeff (16 July 2024). "China reschedules planetary defense mission for 2027 launch". spacenews.com. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
External links
[edit]- 2015 XF261 at the JPL Small-Body Database
- Zou, Yongliao; Xue, Changbin; Jia, Yingzhuo; Li, Mingtao; Xu, Haitao; Lyu, Bohan; Gu, Zhang; Tang, Yuhua; Chen, Qi; Wang, Chi (April 2024). "小行星防御试验任务科学目标设计与有效载荷配置" [Scientific Objectives and Configuration Payloads of Asteroid Defense Test Missions]. Journal of Deep Space Exploration (in Chinese). 11 (2): 169–176. doi:10.15982/j.issn.2096-9287.2024.20230020.
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