As China steps up its lunar exploration, some scientists in the
country are planning another space project, the "Kuafu Mission,"
with hopes of gaining a deeper understanding of the activities of
the sun.
The project is expected to be launched in 2012 and will study
the complex Sun-Earth system and improve the space weather
forecast, Tu Chuanyi, a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences,
said at the ongoing 36th Committee on Space Research (COSPAR)
Scientific Assembly.
The mission will raise the standard of end-to-end observation of
the Sun-Earth system, and advance scientists' understanding of the
basic physical processes underlying space weather, said Tu, who is
also a professor at Peking University.
Tu said the mission is designed to observe the complete chain of
disturbances from the solar atmosphere to geo-space, including
solar flares, coronal mass ejections (CMEs), interplanetary clouds,
shock waves, and their geo-effects such as magnetic storms and
auroral activities.
The mission is named after the legendary Chinese character Kuafu
who tried to catch the sun and enter it.
"The Kuafu Mission may start at the next solar maximum, the year
of 2012, hopefully, and with an initial mission lifetime of two to
three years," Tu said.
He said the mission is composed of three spacecraft:
Kuafu-A, Kuafu B1 and B2.
Kuafu-A will be located at the Lagrangian point L1, a
point of stability with respect to gravitational forces between the
sun and Earth, and will have instruments aboard to allow continuous
observation of solar activities.
Kuafu B1 and B2 will be in polar Earth orbits
that enable continuous observations of the aurora in the northern
hemisphere, which shows the influence of the sun's activities on
Earth, Tu said.
The mission is now at the comprehensive review stage, Tu said,
adding that the review would focus on a more detailed study of
mission objectives and payload.
At the same time, the Chinese space industry will conduct
preliminary engineering studies on various technical elements,
including a satellite platform, launch strategy, tracking and
control as well as a data transmission system.
A dozen leading scientists from Germany, France, Belgium,
Austria, Canada and other countries are expected to participate in
the project.
William Liu, chief scientist of space physics and atmosphere
science with the Canadian Space Agency, told Xinhua News
Agency?that the Kuafu Mission is of great scientific
significance and would involve the participation of world leaders
in this field.
(Xinhua News Agency?July 21, 2006)