Russia’s State Space Corporation Roscosmos and the Central Research Institute of Machine Building (TsNIIMASH) will develop a system to identify and assess the celestial bodies that pose a threat to Earth, the Izvestia daily writes on Friday.

“It is necessary to develop hardware and software systems for the collection, processing and analysis of information about potentially dangerous objects of natural origin”, TsNIIMASH spokesperson Olga Zharova told Izvestia. She said the system development efforts envisage international cooperation, in particular, the exchange of data on the near-Earth space will be offered to the world’s leading space agencies.

The system development will be carried out during the creation of the third stage of the Automated Space Hazard Warning System (ASPOS OKP), the funding for which, according to the Federal Space Program for 2016-2025, is planned at 4.1 billion rubles ($61.25 million).

“The system’s aim is to identify a dangerous cosmic body not three hours before its collision with the Earth, but well in advance, so that we could be prepared and in the future to take certain steps to divert and destroy comets or asteroids”, full member of the International Academy of Astronautics Gennady Raikunov told the newspaper.

The ASPOS OKP system is currently used mainly to monitor objects in near space: it ensures safe orbit insertion of spacecraft of the Russian orbital constellation, determines the permissible ranges of dates and the orbiting time windows.