Explorer in search of universe’s “invisible cloak”.
By Sreejith Vallikunnu
China has launched its first Dark Matter particle Explorer DAMPE satellite which will search for invisible material that make up the mass in the universe.
The new dark matter explorer satellite, nicknamed “Wukong”, the monkey king from the Chinese classical fiction “Journey to the West”, was launched on Thursday morning from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in Gansu Province, Xinhua.
The satellite will be placed in the sun-synchronous orbit, 500 Km. above the Earth to observe the direction, energy and the electric-charged high energy particles in space.
The Wukong satellite is a 1.9-ton desk-sized module capable of understanding more about the dark matter which has been termed as an invisible cloak around the universe and sheds light on the hypothetical mass.
It can also assist scientists in the search for dark matter extinction or decay. In the first two years after the launch of the satellite, it will scan the universe in all directions and conduct studies on areas where the dark matter can be intently scrutinized.
The Chinese media said that close to 100 scientists are assigned to study and analyze the data sent back by the dark matter explorer. The findings of the scientists are expected to surface by the second half of 2016.
Dark matter remains to be one of the many unsolved mysteries of our universe; this mainly due to its property that doesn’t emit or reflect enough electromagnetic radiation to observe.
The existence of the dark matter, which is yet to be proven by substantial evidence, is a theory formulated by scientists who failed to understand mass and the light bending property of far-away galaxies.
Some scientists are of the belief that the matter till now found in the universe covers only 5% of the total mass of the universe and the rest 95% of the mass is dark matter and dark energy.
Any new development in the understanding of the dark matter could lead to a scientific milestone and can provide scientists with better and clearer idea about the past and the future of galaxies and universe.