China is preparing a planetary defense mission that will be more ambitious than NASA's recent DART test. According to a new study, China plans to launch a spacecraft that will slam into an asteroid at a speed of Mach 26 (about 32,000 km/h) before 2030. The goal is to directly change the asteroid's orbit around Earth or even break it apart. NASA's DART mission in 2022 successfully nudged a small moonlet asteroid by crashing into it. But that was a proof-of-concept test. China's mission aims to be more realistic by targeting an asteroid that poses a potential threat to Earth. The spacecraft will be designed to strike with enough force to alter the asteroid's trajectory or shatter it. The project is led by Li Mingtao of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The team has already selected a target asteroid, though the name has not been publicly announced. The mission is part of China's growing space ambitions, which include a permanent space station and crewed lunar missions. If successful, this would be the first time a country has deliberately attempted to change an asteroid's orbit in a way that could protect Earth. Planetary defense experts say such tests are crucial to prepare for any future asteroid threat.