Scientists from China and the European Union have begun a series of tests on the instruments to be installed on Probe No. 2, a satellite scheduled to be launched in the first half of this year.
The results of the initial tests on Sunday showed that all the instruments are functioning properly, and will be installed on the satellite later this month.
Scientists say Probe No. 2 and another satellite will probe important areas of two magnetic fields of Earth space. The two satellites will form an independent Earth space probe system capable of studying space storms, in a bid to find ways to improve safety for space activities.
China and the European Space Agency signed the cooperation agreement on the double satellite project in 2001 in Paris.
(CCTV February 2, 2004)
