China assembling 'planetary defence team' as chances of asteroid hitting Earth increases again

China is putting together a 'planetary defence team' in preparation for an asteroid which has a slim but not ignorable chance of hitting our planet.

While it sounds like a job that might require you to wear a cape and stick your undies on the outside of your trousers, it's actually a trio of jobs being advertised in their State Department for Science and Technology.

The reason for this is because of a chunk of rock hurtling through space known as Asteroid 2024 YR4, which is about 100 metres across, would likely be able to wipe out a city if it slammed into the wrong part of Earth.

That sounds rather concerning, but on the bright side, this asteroid has about a 2.3 percent probability of hitting us, or a chance of around one in 43 if you'd rather it was put that way.

Essentially, this asteroid is probably not going to hit u,s but given the damage it can do, that's not a chance we'd really want to take.

International scientists will be given access to the James Webb Space Telescope to help spot this asteroid. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

More good news comes, as this asteroid is still about seven years off from reaching our planet if it was to hit us.

It was first spotted in December, and it's proof that our asteroid early warning system is doing a pretty good job spotting potential dangers in space long before they reach our planet.

Slightly more worrying is the fact that within a few months, we won't be able to see it coming, and it'll only become visible again in 2028, so while it'll be out of sight, it won't be out of mind.

China's 'planetary defence team' would be given the important job of asteroid monitoring, as international scientists have been given access to the James Webb Space Telescope to help put together a response to the dangers this asteroid poses.

The asteroid will soon be at its most observable, so experts using the telescope will be able to get the clearest picture of what it looks like before long.

It's seven years away and probably won't hit us, but better safe than sorry. (Getty Stock Photo)

Fortunately, there are countermeasures in place to deal with asteroids that have a chance of hitting our planet.

Spotting them in the first place is an important step on the path to protecting the planet against them, and we have some plans depending on how long we've got to prepare.

Since it's several years away, we could send something to try and redirect the asteroid, knocking it off a possible collision course with our planet and reducing it to just another rock hurtling through space.

If we don't have quite so much time, then destroying an oncoming asteroid is always a possibility.

Just be glad we spotted it while it was years away, instead of months, as by that time, we'd be in a real pickle.

Thankfully, it seems that the events of Don't Look Up won't be playing themselves out, so the scenario of an unscrupulous businessman with influence over a woefully inadequate president which screws everyone over isn't going to happen.