China is expanding its planetary defense efforts with a new asteroid detection network aimed at spotting dangerous space rocks long before they become a threat to Earth, according to the South China Morning Post.
SCMP writes that the planned system will pair a network of powerful ground-based telescopes with satellites in orbit, giving scientists the ability to monitor the sky around the clock. Space-based sensors can also detect asteroids approaching from the sun's direction—objects that are especially difficult for Earth-based observatories to see.
Li Mingtao, the chief scientist overseeing the project, said there are currently no known asteroids expected to strike Earth. Even so, he cautioned that many medium-sized objects capable of causing widespread regional destruction have yet to be discovered.
According to Li, astronomers have already identified more than 95% of near-Earth asteroids larger than one kilometer in diameter, which are large
