China could launch the first module for your own space station this month as the country prepares to send a large space telescope to join it in orbit in the next few years.
The Chinese Space Station Telescope (CSST), to be launched in 2024, will function as a space optical observatory for Chinese scientists to conduct surveys in the sky, according to XinhuaThe telescope, sometimes called the “Xuntian,” which literally translates to “sky surveillance,” will have an impressive 2.6-meter diameter lens, making it comparable to the Hubble telescope. However, it boasts a field of view 300 times larger than Hubble’s 31-year-old, while maintaining a similar resolution.
The wide field of view will allow the telescope to observe up to 40 percent of the sky over ten years using a huge 2.5 billion pixel cameraIn particular, the telescope will co-orbit the Earth with the Chinese space station and will be able to periodically dock with the future equipped outpost.
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“The telescope will be installed in an optical module that can fly independently in orbit for greater space probe efficiency,” said Zhou Jianping, chief designer of China’s human spaceflight program. China Central Television said in March.
“In the meantime, we will make it fly approximately in common orbit with the future space station. This will help us refuel the telescope and perform the update in orbit[s] for this, so that we always maintain it at the level of an international border “, Jianping added.
This could be a big advantage for CSST because Hubble needed a number of missions to repair, upgrade and replace a variety of components and systems.
Meanwhile, on the ground, four astronomical research centers are being built across China to work with data from the space telescope, Xinhua reported last year.
CSST will notice almost ultraviolet and visible light. Notable cosmological and astronomical goals include investigating the properties of dark matter and dark energy, the large-scale structure of the cosmos, and the formation and evolution of the galaxy, according to a 2019 paper from members of the National Astronomical Observatories (NAOC) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
CSST will also be expected to contribute to the detection and surveillance of trans-Neptunian objects (NWTs) and asteroids near Earth.
In addition, in preparation for the nation’s new space station, Chinese astronauts are currently underway intense training for the first manned missions for the construction of the future station.
China is preparing for 11 launches in 2021 and 2022, including four manned missions, for the construction phase of the project. The basic module, called “Tianhe, Meaning “Harmony of Heaven,” will be launched in Wenchang in April, based on previous preparations on March 5th.
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