China is considering building a defense system against near-Earth asteroids
China will hold discussions on building a defense system against near-Earth asteroids, Zhang Kejian, head of the China National Space Administration, said at a time when it intensifies efforts towards achieving its long-term space ambitions.
The head of the China National Space Administration did not give further details in the statements he made at the opening ceremony of the Chinese Space Day in Nanjing, in eastern China.
China has made space exploration a top priority in recent years, aiming to establish a program that operates thousands of space flights annually and carries tens of thousands of tons of movables and people by 2045.
The European Space Agency signed a deal last year worth 129 million euros (156.08 million dollars) to build a spaceship for a joint project with the US Aerospace and Space Administration (NASA) to discuss how to divert the path of an asteroid heading to Earth.
Xinhua News Agency quoted Yi Bijian, a researcher with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, as saying that China is moving forward towards a mission during which a space probe lands on an asteroid close to Earth to collect samples and return to Earth to launch a capsule containing samples and then take an orbit around another comet.
It could take ten years to complete the task, Yi said.
Last month, China signed a memorandum of understanding with Russia to establish an international moon research station.
