China's space scientists plan to develop spacecraft to study asteroids in the near future, according to experts at the annual conference of the China Association for Science and Technology.

The Beijing Morning Post on Monday quoted an unnamed expert with the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp. as saying the study of asteroids or comets had been listed on China's space program.

The Chinese spacecraft would probably land on the asteroids or crash into minor planets, similar to the Deep Impact mission of NASA, said the expert.

On July 4 last year, the Deep Impact spacecraft arrived at Comet Temel 1, impacting with a mass of 370 kg.

The study of asteroids was significant to the search for life outside the Earth, said experts.

Japan has also sent spacecraft to probe asteroids.

Asteroids are rock and metallic objects that orbit the Sun, but are too small to be considered planets. They are known as minor planets and range in size from Ceres, with a diameter of about 1,000 km, down to the size of pebbles.

Sixteen asteroids have a diameter of at least 240 km. They have been found inside the Earth's orbit to beyond Saturn's orbit. Most, however, are contained within a main belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. Some have orbits that cross the Earth's path and some have even hit the Earth in times past.

Asteroids are material left over from the formation of the solar system.

Much of mankind's understanding of asteroids comes from examining pieces of space debris that fall to the surface of Earth.

Because asteroids are material from the very early solar system, scientists are interested in their composition.

Before 1991 the only information obtained on asteroids was through Earth-based observations. Then in October 1991, asteroid 951 Gaspra was visited by the Galileo spacecraft and became the first asteroid subject to high-resolution images.