- China is recruiting for what it calls a “planetary defense” unit to protect Earth from an asteroid that could strike in 2032. Beijing’s State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry has posted job listings for three positions, according to a Chinese news outlet.
- One listing said the department was seeking graduates to study asteroid monitoring and design early warning systems.
- The move comes as the European Space Agency reported on Friday that the probability of Asteroid 2024 YR4 hitting Earth in 2032 was 2.2%.
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China is recruiting for what it calls a “planetary defense” unit to protect Earth from an asteroid that could strike in 2032.
Beijing’s State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry has posted job listings for three positions, according to a Chinese news outlet.
One listing reportedly said the department was seeking graduates to study asteroid monitoring and design early warning systems.
Why are they recruiting for the unit?
The move reported on Wednesday, Feb. 12, comes as the European Space Agency announced on Friday, Feb. 7, the probability of Asteroid 2024 YR4 hitting Earth was 2.2%, up from a NASA prediction, which Straight Arrow News previously reported on, that gave it a 1% chance of striking Earth.
While the chances of an impact are small, NASA said it is the most dangerous space object near Earth, and space agencies around the globe are preparing for the possibility of impact.
How big is the asteroid?
The YR4 is estimated to be anywhere from 130 to 300 feet wide. Researchers at the University of Hawaii’s Institute for Astronomy first discovered it in late December of 2024.
How would they stop it from hitting Earth?
Different methods have been proposed to eliminate the potential threat of impact, including using nuclear weapons to redirect the asteroid or using NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test, known as DART. The first DART mission test changed the trajectory of an asteroid in 2022 by using “kinetic impactors.”
Beijing’s tactics for planetary defense would reportedly be similar, with the goal of crashing a spacecraft into the asteroid to redirect it.
Is the asteroid being tracked?
While there is still a more than 97% chance that the asteroid will not hit Earth, the European Space Agency is providing regular updates on the space object’s movements.
