Watch: Did China shoot down a meteor with a missile? Scientists doubt Friday's fireball came from space
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Watch: Did China shoot down a meteor with a missile? Scientists doubt Friday's fireball came from space")
Did China shoot down a meteor with a missile Photograph: (X/ Orikron)
Did a missile slam into a meteor over China? China has been racing ahead in the field of space, and is also preparing its planetary defence system to safeguard the planet from a hazardous asteroid or comet. But could it have crashed a missile into a meteor?
People in the Shandong province of China were stunned to see a huge fireball in the sky on Friday. And if it wasn't enough, someone shot it down seconds later. Videos of the mysterious incident quickly spread across Chinese social media. People claimed that the government had possibly shot down a meteor or a UFO. However, there is no clarity on what exactly it was. Netizens speculated that it was likely a cosmic space rock. Videos of the mid-air impact show something small crashing into the big, bright object streaking in the sky. Social media was abuzz with chatter about what it could be. Local media reported some people as saying that since it was a rainy night, they thought the sound was of a thunderstorm. Others reported that their windows shook. Others thought that a military drill was going on in the region. So, did a meteor really explode over the sky in China?
Did China intercept a meteor?
Meteors enter Earth like a fireball, and this object also appears to be a rock from space. But it appears bigger than an average meteor in the video. Some people also speculated that authorities were likely testing a missile interception system. Several people on X also posted that China had “successfully intercepted a meteor that was going to crash into Shandong Province, and has plans to develop a full-fledged planetary defence system against meteorite and asteroid impacts.” Suppose it was a meteor, the question then arises about how the authorities would be prepared to shoot down a meteor, since you can't predict its entry. NASA and other space agencies keep a watch for hazardous asteroids, but meteors are smaller fragments which are mostly a surprise element and not spotted before their entry into the Earth's atmosphere.
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Watch video of ‘China shooting down meteor’
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Another problem with the claim of it being a meteor is its speed and the supposed interception by a missile. Meteors typically enter at speeds between 40,000 km/hr and 258,000 km/h. Dr Alfredo Carpineti, an astrophysicist, told Metro that even the slowest meteor is faster than the fastest hypersonic missile. Besides, no country has yet used missiles to intercept asteroids and meteors. The DART mission by NASA saw a spacecraft collide with the asteroid moonlet Dimorphos on September 26, 2022. So, while several countries in the space race are working on projects to intercept asteroids, none of them has confirmed using missiles as part of their planetary defence systems.
Asteroid and comet interception missions
Asteroid watch is a major priority not only at NASA, but JAXA (Japan's space agency), ESA (European space agency), Roscosmos (Russian space agency) and China National Space Administration (China's space agency), among others. Beijing is said to be developing a major planetary defence system to intercept asteroids, comets and meteors that threaten Earth.
China's space mission
Meanwhile, there is a race to reach the Moon, and Beijing is believed to be making great strides in the field. It is aiming to land a human on the Moon before 2030 and also has plans to build a research station and a nuclear station on the lunar surface. China completed comprehensive landing and takeoff tests of its new manned lunar lander, named "Lanyue", in August 2025.
The viral videos of the supposed meteor being intercepted by something could well be a part of China's ongoing mission to win this space race. Although there is no official word yet on what this mysterious object seen on Friday was.
