Phase II of space project completed

Network spans area between sun and Earth to warn of interstellar weather

China achieved a significant milestone in space science on Friday with the completion and national approval of the Chinese Meridian Project Phase II.

The project is the world's first comprehensive ground-based monitoring network spanning the entire sun-Earth space environment, extending from the solar atmosphere to near-Earth space, said Li Hui, deputy director of the National Space Science Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

The breakthrough delivers 72-hour early warnings in space weather forecasting as solar activity approaches its 11-year peak this year, which poses interference risks to space missions and navigation systems, said Luo Bingxian, deputy director of the State Key Laboratory of Solar Activity and Space Weather at the NSSC.