China has separately announced plans to conduct its own kinetic impactor demonstration mission, with a launch targeted for 2027.
Meanwhile, the United Nations has designated 2029 as the International Year of Planetary Defense and Asteroid Awareness. The timing coincides with the close flyby of asteroid Apophis, an approximately 1,100-foot-wide object that will pass within about 20,000 miles of Earth — closer than some orbiting satellites. Although Apophis poses no impact risk during that encounter, the event is expected to serve as a high-profile reminder of the importance of preparedness.
For now, scientists say humanity has proven it can nudge an asteroid off course under controlled conditions. But the world does not yet maintain a ready-to-launch deflection mission or a fully mature planetary defense infrastructure. Building and sustaining that capability, they warn, requires long-term investment and coordinated international commitment — because the next serious threat may not provide decades of advance notice.s
