China is building a 'Mach 26 asteroid hammer' to strike asteroids

The Earth revolves in a cosmic system which is surrounded by billions of asteroids often referred to as ‘fossils’ of our solar system. While these rocks are rich in resources, they represent a significant threat to humanity. In response, China has developed an ambitious planetary defence strategy that aims to do more than just observe these celestial rocks. Speaking at the third Deep Space Exploration (Tiandu) International Conference in Hefei, ‘Wu Weiren’(chief designer of China's lunar exploration program and an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering), gave an overview of the country's asteroid exploration and defense strategy.Led by senior scientists from the ‘Chinese Academy of Sciences’ and the ‘China national space administration,’ the country is developing a ‘fly-along–impact–fly-along’ mission model. This innovative approach involves slamming a heavy projectile into an asteroid at 26 times the speed of sound.