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[Excerpt]
China Starts Cutting Edge Space Science Projects After Declaring First Missions Successful
Chinese Academy of Sciences
November 24, 2017
China has declared its dark matter, x-ray observatory, microgravity and quantum space science missions successful, and is turning attention to a new batch of cutting edge projects.
The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) last Tuesday declared that the four missions making up its pioneering Strategic Priority Program on Space Science have been successful in terms of science, management and execution.
The missions, launched between December 2015 and June 2017, are the 'Wukong' (or DAMPE) dark matter probe, the Shijian-10 retrievable satellite, the Quantum Science Satellite 'Mozi', and the Hard X-ray Modulation Telescope (HXMT), also known as 'Insight'.
CAS sees the missions as having improved China's global standing in space science and beyond, but looking to the future the next batch of missions were officially opened on Tuesday.
The next phase of missions are already under development and will be launched around 2021, as part of a wider, long-term vision for space science.
These are SMILE, a space-weather observatory mission being developed in collaboration with the European Space Agency, a global water cycle observation mission (WCOM), the Magnetosphere, Ionosphere and Thermosphere coupling exploration mission (MIT), the Einstein Probe (EP), and the Advanced Space-based Solar Observatory (ASO-S).
Operating in the new field of transient astronomy, the Einstein Probe will survey large portions of the universe for exotic space phenomena using very sensitive wide-filed X-ray camera and telescope.
EP will also aim to locate the electromagnetic wave counterparts of gravitational wave events, and survey the skies for phenomena including supernovae, neutron stars and transient activity in galactic centres.
WCOM will further understanding of the global water cycle and its variations, while SMILE will investigate how charged particles coming from the sun interact with the Earth’s magnetosphere. MIT will involve sending four spacecraft to various altitudes to simultaneously investigate the magneto-, iono-, and themospheres at the Earth’s polar regions.
ASO-S will study the connections between the solar magnetic field, solar flares and coronal mass ejections.
Also launching around this time will be the Space Variable Objects Monitor (SVOM), a collaboration between CNES, the French space agency and China National Space Agency (CNSA).
The SVOM spacecraft aims to study Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs) - the most powerful explosions in the universe - emanating from the era of the first generation of stars. The phenomena are triggered by the deaths of massive stars or merger of two smaller stars.
http://english.cas.ac.cn/newsroom/news/ … 6544.shtml
Last edited by EdwardHeisler (2017-11-29 16:42:12)
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This was a great read! Thanks for sharing!
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