Critical Overview
China’s National Space Administration (CNSA) has recently announced its intention to conduct an asteroid deflection mission. Deputy head of CNSA, Wu Yanhua, shared that the country is planning to build an asteroid monitoring and defense system, and it hopes to conduct a technical experiment as early as 2025 on a potentially dangerous asteroid. The mission aims to closely track and attack the asteroid to change its orbit. In addition to asteroid monitoring, China is also working on developing an early warning system and simulation software to test basic procedures for its planetary defense technologies.
Furthermore, CNSA deputy director Wu Yanhua emphasized that following the establishment of a near-Earth asteroid monitoring and defense system to respond to the threat of an asteroid directly affecting a spacecraft, China will make further progress to protect the safety of the Earth and humankind. The establishment of a monitoring and warning system will be established on the ground and in space to classify and analyze asteroids that present a threat to humanity’s space activities. Relevant technology and engineering will be developed to eliminate the threats that will be implemented in the future.
China Asteroid Deflection Mission to Rival NASA?
China’s plan to conduct an asteroid deflection mission places it in competition with NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART), which is aiming for Didymos, a small moonlet of an asteroid. DART launched in November 2021 and is currently in orbit. However, for the time being, the agency is not focusing on any potentially dangerous space rocks.
As reported by The Verge, China has lagged behind its rival space agency, NASA, in terms of technological advancement in asteroid exploration. At present, the United States and Russia are both developing asteroid monitoring systems. Nonetheless, China’s announcement indicates the country’s intention to build a community with a shared future for humanity. According to military expert Song Zhongping, it is the duty of a major space power to protect humankind from possible disasters that could end the entire human civilization.
China’s Planetary Defense Project
China has been exploring the concept of a planetary defense system for some time now. According to a white paper published by the country’s government, China announced plans to study a planetary defense system in January 2021, as well as to increase the capacity of near-earth object monitoring, cataloging, early warning, and response over the period 2021-2025. Moreover, the country hosted its first Planetary Defense Conference, which included sessions, papers, and presentations on a variety of related issues, in October 2021.
Aside from the CNSA planetary defense project that would also set up the software to simulate asteroid impacts, it will also focus its efforts on conducting drills to prepare for the possibility of an asteroid impact. Similar simulations have been conducted by NASA and the European Space Agency. As of the time being, China does not have a specific asteroid it plans to target.
Conclusion
China’s National Space Administration is planning to conduct an asteroid deflection mission, aiming to build an asteroid monitoring and defense system. The establishment of a monitoring and warning system will be established on the ground and in space to classify and analyze asteroids that present a threat to humanity’s space activities. Relevant technology and engineering will be developed to eliminate the threats that will be implemented in the future. China’s announcement indicates the country’s intention to build a community with a shared future for humanity. China’s planetary defense project includes setting up software to simulate asteroid impacts, conducting drills to prepare for the possibility of an asteroid impact, and increasing the capacity of near-earth object monitoring, cataloging, early warning, and response over the period 2021-2025. While China’s rival space agency, NASA, is currently focusing on the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission, China’s asteroid.
