China to carry out asteroid defense system test

China is preparing for its first-ever planetary defense mission. It will send a spacecraft to crash into an asteroid and nudge it off course, becoming the second nation after the United States to do so. Why does this matter? What risks and opportunities does it bring? And beyond science, how could this mission reshape China’s growing space economy and global role? Host TU Yun joins Dr. Zhang Fan, Associate Professor of Astronomy, Beijing Normal University, Professor Quentin Parker, Director, Lab for Space Research, University of Hong Kong, and Xu Yansong, Director-General, Asia Pacific Space Cooperation Organization to break down the mission, the science, the stakes, and the money behind it.