China establishes 'planetary defense' team

China's defence agency is recruiting space researchers after discovering an asteroid that could hit Earth in seven years.

According to the South China Morning Post , the move came after the European Space Agency (ESA) updated on February 7 that the asteroid 2024 YR4 has a 2.2% chance of hitting Earth in 2032. The information not only attracted the attention of the scientific community but also caused many countries, including China, to consider countermeasures.

Asteroid discovered that could hit Earth in 2032

Asteroid 2024 YR4, estimated to be 40-90 meters wide and about 43 million kilometers from Earth, was discovered by the University of Hawaii's Institute of Astronomy in late December. If the asteroid enters the atmosphere, it could cause a powerful airborne explosion similar to the Tunguska meteorite explosion in 1908. The resulting shockwave could destroy forests over an area of more than 2,000 ^square kilometers. If 2024 YR4 is denser and richer in iron, it could leave a large impact crater on the Earth's surface, according to Uzbekistan's Zamin newspaper.

Illustration of an asteroid that could hit Earth in 2032

The discovery has triggered global asteroid response mechanisms as the possibility of 2024 YR4 colliding with Earth exceeds the internationally monitored threshold. To respond to this potential threat, China is expanding research on planetary defense and developing collision prevention measures.

Accordingly, a special project center at the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense of China recently posted a recruitment notice for a "planetary defense headquarters".

According to an announcement posted last month on the WeChat account of the China Aerospace Science and Technology journal — which is responsible for research and development of aerospace engineering and Earth observation — it is recruiting new graduates to research asteroid monitoring and create early warning methods.

There are a number of different methods that could be used to try to stop an asteroid from hitting Earth, the South China Morning Post reports. In the world ’s first successful planetary defence test in 2022, NASA sent a spacecraft crashing head-on into an asteroid to alter its trajectory.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/trung-quoc-thanh-lap-doi-phong-thu-hanh-tinh-185250211102251634.htm