China is building early warning system to spot Earth-smashing asteroids
China is developing a comprehensive early warning system using ground-based telescopes and orbital satellites to detect near-Earth asteroids. The initiative aims to identify smaller, potentially devastating asteroids that currently remain undetected.
Why it matters
Improving planetary defense capabilities is critical for global safety, as undiscovered asteroids pose a significant risk of sudden, catastrophic impact.
China is developing an early warning system to spot asteroids that might smash into the Earth, according to the scientist leading the national mission.
China planned to deploy multiple telescopes on the ground, alongside a constellation of satellites in orbit, state-run Science and Technology Daily quoted Li Mingtao, chief scientist at the asteroid monitoring and early-warning research centre under the China National Space Administration, as saying.
None of the asteroids that had been discovered so far were thought to be on a clear collision course with Earth, Li said in the report on June 30, which the United Nations designated as International Asteroid Day.
More than 95 per cent of near-Earth asteroids larger than 1km (0.62 miles) in diameter – large enough to trigger global catastrophes – had already been identified, he said.
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