Scientists propose that China should enhance its asteroid research efforts, prioritizing low-cost, high-frequency sample return missions.

Published in the Chinese Journal of Space Sciences, the paper advocates for the establishment of scientific design teams to bolster China’s asteroid exploration endeavors.

Such missions not only deepen our understanding of the solar system’s early stages and the origins of life but also pave the way for future space resource assessment, utilization, and planetary defense strategies.

China’s forthcoming asteroid missions include the Tianwen-2 sample return mission to NEO 469219 Kamoʻoalewa and a planetary defense mission targeting 2019 VL5.

Despite these advancements, the paper highlights China’s relatively nascent progress in asteroid research compared to lunar exploration, Space News reported.

By strategically focusing on asteroids, China could contribute significantly to cosmic understanding, space resource utilization, and planetary defense.

The authors, affiliated with institutions like the Chinese Academy of Sciences, analyze past asteroid missions and emphasize the importance of systematic study in guiding future exploration and exploitation of asteroid resources.

They note a growing international interest in planetary defense missions, underlining the increasing significance of asteroid research in deep space exploration.

Written by B.C. Begley