After a risk assessment determined that the asteroid could hit Earth in 2032, China began recruiting planetary Defense Forces.
This week, an employment ad posted online by the Defense Industry Industry (Sastind), China's science and technology industry, called for young loyal graduates with a focus on aerospace engineering, international cooperation and asteroid detection.
Recruitment Drive is in focusing on asteroids that are unlikely to hit Earth in seven years, but are increasing. The 2024 YR4 asteroid tops the risk list for European and US space agencies, and last week analysts increased their probability rating to crash into Earth from 1.3% to 2.2%. The UN Space Mission Program Advisory Group, consisting of countries with space programs including China, has met regularly to discuss the response.
An ad posted on WeChat earlier this week listed 16 employment vacancy in Sastind, including three new “Planet Defense Forces.” They invited applications from recent graduates under the age of 35, with professional and technical qualifications, a “solid political stance” supporting the Chinese Communist Party, and an ideology similar to leader Xi Jinping. I did.
The advertising prompted widespread online debate among young people. This is the demographic in which unemployment rates reached record highs in 2023.
“The Earth depends on your three people. Isn't that stressful?” asked one person.
“If you succeed, you're a world-saving hero,” said another popular comment about Weibo. “But no one will punish you for failing you, meaning literally “no one” remains. ”
The job description attached to the advertisement suggests that the force will place an important focus on international cooperation and the design of systems for new experimental technologies. The Planetary Defense Force's employment is called “Study on Surveillance and Early Warning of Asteroids Near Earth,” and graduates with master's degrees and above are graduates of majors in astrophysics, Earth and Space Exploration Technology, Aerospace Science and Technology I needed it.
China's aerospace sector is progressing, and it is not clear that adoption has been particularly spurred by the discovery of asteroids. Sastind did not respond to requests for comment.
Andrew Jones, a correspondent for SpaceNews, specializing in the Chinese sector, said the timing of the recruitment appears to coincide with the discovery of the 2024 YR4, with the job being “China's 'to develop planetary defense capabilities.' It is likely to supplement already established efforts.”
“This includes monitoring and warning systems both on the ground and potentially space, and preparations to test measurements such as kinetic impact factors that change the orbit of threatening asteroids.”
Deflecting asteroids like in 2024 appears to be a key focus for China's aerospace development, including plans to replicate 2020. Double asteroid redirect test (DART), conducted by NASA. DART was involved in impacting the spacecraft on a 160-meter asteroid named Dimorphos, detouring its orbit for the first time. The European Space Agency later launched another spacecraft, observing and reporting the impact DART had on Dimorphos.
China is also preparing its own asteroid redirection test in 2027 with a small asteroid named 2015 XF261. It's targeted.
“Given what we've learned from DART, it's likely that a similar impactor mission to a much smaller target will completely disrupt it,” he said. “This may not be the most useful mitigation strategy. Turning a single projectile (with known trajectory) into many fragments (with unknown trajectory) can cause even greater problems. Because there is.
Harrison said there is no need to be overly vigilant about the 2024 YR4, noting that several countries and aerospace organizations are working together on it.
“We know that we have the ability to deflect such asteroids, as shown in the DART mission. So we don't need to be afraid of this asteroid, we need to study and understand it.”
Additional research by Jason Tzu Kuan Lu
