2015 XF261

2015 XF₂₆₁ is a Near-Earth Aten asteroid with an estimated diameter of between 16 m (52 ft) and 69 m (226 ft),^[2] with next closest approach occurring on 21 February 2025 at 16:25 UTC and closest approach of the 21st century occurring on 11 April 2090 at a nominal distance of 0.00302 au (452,000 km).^[1] It completes one orbit around the Sun every 360 days.

2015 XF₂₆₁

Designations
MPC designation	2015 XF261
Minor planet category	NEO Aten
Orbital characteristics[1]
Epoch 2024-Oct-17 (JD 2460600.5)
Uncertainty parameter 1
Observation arc	2,991 days
Aphelion	1.306 AU
Perihelion	0.674 AU
Semi-major axis	0.990 AU
Eccentricity	0.319
Orbital period (sidereal)	0.985 years
Mean anomaly	85.851°
Mean motion	1.001°/day
Inclination	0.794°
Longitude of ascending node	209.835°
Argument of perihelion	100.887°
Earth MOID	0.00230 AU
Jupiter MOID	3.929 AU
Physical characteristics[1]
Absolute magnitude (H)	25.25

2029 mission

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).^[3]

See also

• Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART), another asteroid-deflecting mission which collided with Dimorphos