"Xihe" and "Kwa father" join hands to explore Japan China has formulated two solar exploration plans

Beijing, 14 Oct (China News Service) -- China successfully launched its first solar exploration science and technology test satellite, Xihe, on 14 October. Zhao Jian, director of the Earth Observation and Data Center of the China National Space Administration and chief designer of the major special project of high-resolution Earth observation, revealed in an interview recently that after years of preparation, China has formulated two solar exploration plans, "Xihe" and "Kwafu".

Previously, China has made remarkable achievements in Mars exploration and lunar exploration. China's first Mars exploration mission, Tianwen-1, has successfully realized the orbit, landing and patrol of Mars, and the Chang'e-5 lunar probe has successfully realized the sampling return of lunar samples. This time, China's solar exploration program has begun, which will unveil the mystery of the sun.

Zhao Jian revealed that China has formulated two solar exploration plans. They are the "Xihe" and "Kwafu" exploration programs, which have been prepared for many years, which are the Chinese program and Chinese contribution to solar exploration.

Xihe is the sun goddess in ancient Chinese mythology, the sun god who rules time and calendar, and is known as the mother of the sun. "Xihe" is a scientific and technological test satellite that launches the solar Hα spectral detection and ultra-high pointing accuracy and ultra-high stability satellite platform test, realizing China's solar exploration ice-breaking journey.

The Xihe satellite weighs 508 kilograms, has a design life of 3 years, and operates in a sun-synchronous orbit with an altitude of 517 kilometers and an inclination of 98 degrees, which will pass through the north and south poles of the earth and be able to observe the sun continuously for 24 hours. The satellite will achieve the world's first space exploration of the Hα band spectral imaging of the sun, fill the gap of high-quality observation data in the source area of the solar burst, and improve China's research capabilities in the field of heliophysics.

The legend of Kwapa's father originating from the Classic of Mountains and Seas, and the legend of Kwapa's father chasing the sun and finally incarnating into Kwapa's mountain is widely known. The "Kwafu" plan is to develop and launch an advanced space-based solar observatory satellite to make scientific observations of the sun, which has been included in the pilot program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The space-based Solar Observatory satellite is scheduled to launch next year, also in sun-synchronous orbit, with an orbital altitude of about 700 kilometers.

In addition, China is demonstrating a follow-up solar exploration development plan. Zhao Jian said that scientists hope to implement the "three-step" of multi-perspective detection in the ecliptic plane (the preferred earth-day Lagrang day L5 point), the detection of the solar polar region of the large inclination angle and the observation of the sun's arrival, from easy to difficult, gradually deepening, further understanding the structure of the sun, determining the three-dimensional structure of solar activity, mastering the mechanism and activity law, forecasting space weather, benefiting mankind, and avoiding harm. (End)

Source: China News Network