By Matthew Bossons
In an announcement that sounds much like the plot of a science fiction film (heres looking at you, Interstellar), Chinas leading space exploration conglomerate has confirmed that they are planning to launch a spacecraft to hunt for habitable worlds outside of the solar system.
On Thursday, General Manager Yuan Jie at China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp told 500 students at Beijings Beihang University that China plans to start hunting for potentially habitable exoplanets by the end of the next decade. (Exoplanets, for the unaware, are planets located outside of our solar system.)
According to China Daily, Yuan stated that the revolutionary space program has been dubbed Miyin, or Voice Searching in English, and is considered amongst the State-backed companys key projects. The scientific mission (or perhaps, missions details are still scarce) is expected to blast off sometime around 2030.
Yuan stated that the Miyin program aims to launch a spacecraft armed with telescopes and other high-tech devices capable of helping researchers locate exoplanets in our cosmic neighborhood and assess their habitability. The project also intends to survey planets within the solar system and analyze water distribution on them.
READ MORE: China's Massive Telescope and the Global Quest to Find Aliens
Thursdays announcement marks the first time that a high-ranking authority from Chinas space industry has divulged information related to the nations attempt to find an exoplanet that could be suitable for human habitation. Prior to Yuans revelations, only a trickle of information had been published by authorities in relation to the Miyin program, China Daily reports.
China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp is the PRCs top contractor for space exploration, heading up the Shenzhou manned missions and the Change-4 lunar program, among others.
Will Miyin be able to locate our very own Pandora? Thats anyones guess. But after the success of the Change-4 lunar mission, were confident Chinas space institutes have as good of chance as anyone.
READ MORE: China Has Found Something Weird on the Moons Far Side
[Cover image via Pixabay]
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