China wants to defend the Earth from asteroids using the moon

China’s “Planetary Defense System” has been catching momentum recently, with Beijing researchers now planning to utilize the moon to protect Earth from asteroid strikes that could potentially wipe out a city or human civilization, according to scientists involved in the project.

Two optical telescopes would be built on the moon’s south and north poles to survey the space around them for any threats that may have slipped through the ground-based early warning network, especially those approaching from the blind side facing the sun.

The new project entails putting three guardian satellites carrying loads of fuel and kinetic weapons into the moon’s orbit around the Earth, Wu Weiren, chief designer of the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program, said in a paper published in the Chinese peer-reviewed journal Scientia Sinica Informationis.

According to the planned project, when the system detects a celestial body with the potential to cause severe damage, it sends one or all of the guardian satellites to intercept the asteroid within a short timeframe, as short as a week, faster than what any large rocket launched from Earth could achieve, according to the team.

“It will have the ability to intercept incoming asteroids from all directions, and can form a defense circle about twice the distance between the moon and Earth – about 800,000km in diameter,” Wu and his colleagues said.

“It will have the ability to intercept incoming asteroids from all directions, and can form a defense circle about twice the distance between the moon and Earth – about 800,000km in diameter.”

Wu and his research team

China’s currently developing Earth Defense System consists of giant radars and telescopes in an attempt to manage an extinction event such as the one that wiped out the dinosaurs about 65 million years ago.

Planetary surveillance

But before breaking ground on the moon, China would first launch satellites into the moon’s orbit to test their latest surveillance, tracking and interception technologies.

These satellites could, potentially, be used to defend China’s national security by having the telescopes and sensors pointed toward the Earth, the researchers suggested.

They “have the ability to monitor the geosynchronous orbit,” a high-altitude belt hosting many communications and military satellites, they said in the paper.

The Earth-defending satellites could help China keep a close eye on other countries’ satellites “and improve the ability to protect high-value space assets”.

A growing space power

China has become a growing space power, putting ever-increasing effort in recent years to improve its capabilities in space. So far, China has launched new satellites, landed probes on the moon and explored its dark side, and even constructed its own space station.

Nasa administrator Bill Nelson said earlier this month he was concerned about the possibility China would take over the moon, though Beijing has denied this and dismissed these claims.