China Unveils Massive Project To Find Earth 2.0

China has revealed its plans to find “Earth 2.0” in a new 115-page paper. China intends to find Earth 2.0 with a next-generation space observatory slated to launch by the end of 2026. The mission will search for “elusive Earth twins orbiting solar-type stars,” according to the paper. Researchers expect to detect approximately 4,900 Earth-sized planets and 10-20 Earth 2.0s. "Survey simulations show that the ET transit survey will be able to detect about ∼29,000 new planets, including ∼4,900 Earth-sized planets and 10-20 Earth 2.0s assuming an Earth 2.0 occurrence rate of 10 percent," Shanghai Astronomical Observatory of the CAS. The search for Earth 2.0 is part of a larger international effort to find worlds that might be potentially habitable. Once these worlds are identified, they can be scanned for signs of life or biosignatures and answer questions about the existence of aliens.