China to build space-ground monitoring network for asteroid defense

BEIJING, July 1 (Xinhua) -- China is working on a space-ground integrated monitoring and early-warning network as a core component of a planetary defense system that is under feasibility study, according to a scientist familiar with the plan. Li Mingtao, chief scientist at the asteroid monitoring and early-warning research center under the China National Space Administration (CNSA), made the revelation on Tuesday