Wukong Ship finds dark matter sending data to Earth

China's dark matter search space ship began sending data to Earth after being launched into space.

The dark matter exploration satellite (DAMPE ) was launched on December 17, running the test before sending the first statistics of high-energy electrons and cosmic rays to the National Space Science Center of the Institute. Chinese Academy of Science in Huai District, suburb of Beijing.

"At present, everything seems perfect. The accuracy and stability of the ship is many times higher than our prediction when designing," Xinhua said on December 24, citing Chang Jin, DAMPE project manager. .

Data sent by DAMPE is consistent with the original calculations of experts, showing that the telescope operates effectively. However, it still needs to undergo two months of testing and calibration.

China's Wukong dark exploratory satellite began sending data to Earth.(Photo: University of Geneva).

Nicknamed Wukong, DAMPE departed from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center and joined the orbiting trajectory in sync with the Sun at an altitude of 500km. Satellite has turned more than 100 around the Earth.

Scientists hope it can help them discover dark matter and shed light on materials that make up most of the cosmic weight. Dark matter does not emit or reflect electromagnetic radiation enough to be observable. direct. This is one of the great mysteries of modern science.

Dark matter was proposed by scientists to explain the cosmic mass and the phenomenon of light being bent in distant galaxies. It is widely accepted in the physics research community without a proven proof.

According to scientists, only about 5% of the total mass - the energy of the universe is made up of ordinary matter, while dark matter and dark energy constitute the rest. Exploring dark matter can help scholars better understand the past and future of galaxies and the universe, leading to revolutionary discovery in the field of space physics.

The Wukong satellite will operate for three years in the universe, but scientists hope to extend the time to five years. It will continuously scan space in all directions in the first two years and then focus on areas that are more likely to observe dark matter.

Earlier reports said Wukong had the widest observation spectrum and highest energy resolution among dark matter research spacecraft in the world.

According to Chang Jin, Wukong can capture about 100 high-energy particles in space every second. Scientists will look for high energy electrons and gamma rays, the rest of dark matter after annihilating or decomposing. Preliminary findings will be published in the second half of 2016.