China has been working to address space threats, such as the possibility of asteroids hitting Earth, by investing in advanced equipment and promoting global cooperation.
At the end of January, a newly discovered asteroid, 2024 YR4, raised alarms as it was thought to have a three percent chance of colliding with Earth in 2032.
However, Zhao Haibin, one of China's most prominent asteroid watchers who was tracking the asteroid in late February, confirmed that the potential disaster was unlikely.
"We can now say that the threat it posed for 2032 has essentially been eliminated," he said.
Zhao, who is a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Science's Purple Mountain Observatory, has been monitoring near-Earth asteroids for years.
His team scours deep space using the Chinese Near-Earth Object Survey Telescope, a key component of the International Asteroid Warning Network. Since 2006, this telescope has been tasked with identifying and tracking asteroids to provide warnings about potential threats to the planet.
"Up until now, China has discovered more than 60 near-Earth asteroids in total, and this telescope alone has contributed to the discovery of more than 40 new asteroids," said Zhao.
"Besides discovery, we also know that near-Earth asteroids require long-term monitoring. This telescope has contributed to about 90 percent of China's observational data. What's the purpose of this data? It's for international sharing," he added.
Because of the growing database, Zhao believes the world is now better prepared for handling unexpected threats from space.
"It's not that the threat is increasing, but rather that people's understanding has become more comprehensive. Our understanding is clearer now because we have more equipment dedicated to this work," he said.
Chinese telescopes played a crucial role in the global effort to accurately track the movements of several asteroids in the latter half of 2024. Fortunately, all of these were relatively small and exploded in the atmosphere without causing any harm.
Tang Menghui, one of China's planetary defense planners, said the country is also working on deploying satellites to monitor asteroids in space.
"When we're on Earth, we can only look outward and can't see toward the Sun during the day. But with satellites at the L1 point, we can monitor areas impossible to see from Earth. These are the various orbits we're considering for space-based monitoring," said Tang Menghui, who is the Director of the Strategic Planning Department at the China National Space Administration's Earth Observation and Data Center.
The L1 point, also known as the Sun-Earth Lagrange point, is a location in space where the gravitational forces of the Sun and the Earth balance each other out.
Christian Feichtinger, executive director of the International Astronautical Federation, joined the call for a global effort to protect the earth from the dangers of asteroid collisions.
"We are bringing together all the different stakeholders that can contribute to this effort because it's a global effort and we are talking about the government sector, the space agencies, industry, of course, research centers — everybody that can contribute. With bringing together our community, we can contribute to a global effort in case such a danger occurs," he said.
Chinese scientists monitor space for possible asteroid threats
