China pushes forward exploration of small celestial bodies

Asteroid 2016HO3 has a very close relationship with Earth. It has a diameter of about 40 to 100 meters, said Ye.

The second target, comet 311P, is one of the comets within the main asteroid belt. The diameter of its cometary nucleus is about 320 to 580 meters, he said.

Small celestial bodies preserve the original information of the formation and evolution of the solar system. They are considered living fossils for studying the origin of the solar system.