Representative ImageHow China is planning to build a round-the-clock asteroid surveillance system“No asteroid has so far been identified that will definitely collide with Earth in the foreseeable future, but concerns over impact risks are not unfounded.
Many near-Earth asteroids remain undetected.”“We must never let our guard down, but there is also no need for excessive anxiety.”China is developing a space-ground integrated monitoring and early-warning network as part of a planetary defence system, which is currently under feasibility study.
The first is a kinetic impact mission, in which a spacecraft strikes the asteroid at high speed to alter its orbit.
The second includes techniques such as gravity tractors, ion beams and laser ablation, which require significantly more advanced warning to be effective.Mingtao says the biggest hurdle is still detecting the unknown near-Earth asteroids, especially those coming from the direction of the Sun.
This makes ongoing surveillance and early warning systems a priority for planetary defence work.
Representative Image
How China is planning to build a round-the-clock asteroid surveillance system
“No asteroid has so far been identified that will definitely collide with Earth in the foreseeable future, but concerns over impact risks are not unfounded.
Many near-Earth asteroids remain undetected.”
“We must never let our guard down, but there is also no need for excessive anxiety.”
China is developing a space-ground integrated monitoring and early-warning network as part of a planetary defence system, which is currently under feasibility study. According to a report by Chinese news agency Xinhua, Li Mingtao, chief scientist at the asteroid monitoring and early-warning research centre under the China National Space Administration (CNSA), said that the proposed system will combine ground-based telescopes with a space-based monitoring constellation to provide continuous surveillance of near-Earth asteroids.Mingtao announced the plan on International Asteroid Day, observed annually on June 30 to raise awareness about asteroid impact risks and planetary defence. He said the network is designed to eliminate monitoring blind spots by coordinating observations from Earth and space.According to Mingtao, China will deploy multiple large-aperture optical telescopes at carefully selected sites to create a geographically distributed observation network capable of conducting long-range, wide-area night-sky surveys.To address the limitations of ground-based telescopes, which cannot observe objects near the Sun because of atmospheric scattering and sunlight, China also plans to launch a space-based monitoring constellation. The satellites will monitor asteroids approaching from the sunward direction, enabling continuous observations regardless of weather or daylight conditions.Mingtao said,He added,According to the scientist, more than 40,000 near-Earth asteroids have already been discovered and catalogued globally, but many smaller or faint objects remain undetected.China has also made initial progress in developing risk assessment models and algorithms and is building an operational near-Earth asteroid early-warning system. Once a telescope identifies a potential object of concern, the system will automatically calculate its orbit and estimate the probability of an impact on Earth.Li said that if a credible and urgent threat is confirmed, authorities will be notified immediately, and the public will be informed of the potential risk and recommended actions.The scientist also outlined two possible approaches to planetary defence if an asteroid is found to be on a collision course with Earth. The first is a kinetic impact mission, in which a spacecraft strikes the asteroid at high speed to alter its orbit. The second includes techniques such as gravity tractors, ion beams and laser ablation, which require significantly more advanced warning to be effective.Mingtao says the biggest hurdle is still detecting the unknown near-Earth asteroids, especially those coming from the direction of the Sun. This makes ongoing surveillance and early warning systems a priority for planetary defence work.
