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[EN VIDÉO] ESA: Europe united in space exploration So many missions for the European Space Agency since its creation in 1975. More than ever, ESA has kept its eyes on our two neighboring stars: the Moon and Mars. For this, new robots are preparing for their exploration and exploration missions before the human lands there.
The National Center for Space Science and the Chinese Academy of Sciences are preparing to select a new series of space missions for 2025-2030. These missions are carried out under the Strategic Priority Program on Space Sciences (SPP), the third of its name. Thirteen missions compete in four major areas of space science: astronomy and astrophysics, exoplanets, heliophysics, and the solar system. Some of these missions are new, even very ambitious. They are also signs of China’s very high ambitions on the international stage, no longer appearing as an “outsider” but as a space power that does not hesitate to compete with other space powers.
Five to seven missions could be selected, a first launch is planned for 2026. We briefly present the 13 missions in the competition, some of which are new.
“Watch” the decay of dark matter
In the field of astronomy and astrophysics, four missions compete. The X-ray observatory eXTP (Enhanced X-ray Timing and Polarimetry) will address key unsolved problems in basic research: the equation of state of ultra-dense cold matter, the effects of the strong gravitational field and the physics of the strongest magnetic fields. It is also used to better understand gravitational waves and neutrino sources. eXTP will be in orbit around the Earth at an altitude of 550 kilometers.
Dampe-2 (Dark Matter Particle Explorer-2) is a satellite for detecting dark matter particles, building on the great achievements of the Dampe mission. Both missions are designed to hunt dark matter. It should be known that this matter, thought to be much more abundant in the universe than classical matter, can only be detected today by the gravity it exerts on the surrounding classical matter. However, some models predict that it consists of particles that could annihilate from time to time by emitting conventional high-energy particles. Dampe-2 wants to track down these particles.
The DSL (Discovering the Sky at the Longest Wavelength) mission consists of a network of small satellites that will be placed in lunar orbit. DSL should open a new window of radio astronomical observation at frequencies below 30 MHz, with great potential for new and unexpected discoveries. New information is expected on various astrophysical processes in planets and stars, the Milky Way, galaxies and supermassive black holes.
In the field of exoplanets, we have already presented the two competing missions. There is Earth 2.0, whose goal is to discover planets similar in size, mass and composition to Earth, evolving specifically in their star’s habitable zone. That is, planets that share many similarities with Earth and are therefore potentially habitable. The second competing mission is Ches (Closeby Habitable Exoplanet Survey). It’s more ambitious because it’s designed to discover terrestrial habitable planets in the habitable zone around sun-like stars close to us. That means it’s about 32 light-years away from us. Both would operate at the Sun-Earth Lagrange 2 point (L2).
A perspective of China’s space program for 2021 was released during the CNSA press conference. Chang’e 6 & 7, asteroid sampling and comet exploration will be conducted over the next five years. No manned moon landing mission is planned in the next 5 years. https://t.co/8cM6lpNhrzpic.twitter.com/zCYba0suWu
— CNSA Watcher (@CNSAWatcher) January 28, 2022
The sun’s poles seen from an unprecedented promontory
Heliophysics is a discipline that paves the way to a better understanding of the Sun and its interactions with Earth, the Solar System and the interstellar medium, including space weather. Four missions are proposed.
SOR (SOLar Ring) is a mission to monitor and study the Sun and inner heliosphere with a 360° view in the plane of the ecliptic. Three satellites are used and are 120° apart in orbit at 1 AU from the Sun. The purpose of the mission is to study the origin of the solar cycle, the origin of solar flares, and the origin of severe space weather phenomena.
The SPO (Solar Polar-Orbit Observatory) satellite will directly image the Sun’s solar poles in an unprecedented way. It will perform an orbit around the Sun with a large inclination (≥ 80°) with respect to the plane of the ecliptic and a low ellipticity. SPO will reveal the origin of the solar magnetic activity cycle that shapes the living environment on Earth to determine the mechanism of high-velocity solar wind generation. Its data will also be useful for creating numerical heliospheric and space weather models.
The observatory for solar eclipses of terrestrial origin Eseo (Earth-occulted Solar Eclipse Observatory) is a satellite that will be installed at the second point of Lagrange (L2). It will use Earth’s occultation of the Sun to study the inner corona and is expected to reveal the early stage of solar flares in the inner corona and subsequently how Earth’s magnetic tail responds to those flares.
Finally, the Chime satellite (Chinese Heliospheric Interstellar Medium Explorer) is intended to provide the first in situ measurements of interstellar gas and dust. Chime will be installed in a heliocentric elliptical orbit with perihelion at about 1 AU and aphelion at about 3 AU.
Is there life in the clouds of Venus?
How do greenhouse gases affect climate change and how do they react to it? What are the spatial and temporal variations in ocean dynamics at multiple scales? How can we track the evolution of the dichotomous solar system over the first 10 million years? The geological and thermal history of Venus, the mechanisms of the super-greenhouse effect, past and present habitable environments, and the possible existence of life on Venus. To answer these questions, four missions compete.
The ASR (Asteroid Sample Return) mission aims to bring back samples of the small asteroid E-type 1989 ML (0.6 km in diameter), taken from three different locations. The entire mission will take about four years to complete.
As for Voice (Venus Volcano Imaging and Climate Explorer), it’s a mission to study Venus. The probe will be in a polar orbit about 350 kilometers from its surface. The aim is to study the geological evolution of Venus, atmospheric thermochemical processes, surface-atmosphere interactions, as well as to verify whether Venus has a habitable environment and whether there is life in the clouds.
Caces (Climate and Atmospheric Components Exploring Satellites) is a small mission consisting of two satellites in low sun-synchronous orbit that will focus on observing climate variables and the composition of the Earth’s atmosphere. Caces promises to provide a deeper understanding of how greenhouse gases affect climate change and their role in weather disasters. This mission also aims to monitor and quantify CO2 emissions in 2028. These measurements will be useful for the Chinese government to verify that China has indeed achieved carbon neutrality by 2060 as it has committed to.
Oscom (Ocean Surface Current Multiscale Observation Mission) is an altimetry satellite dedicated to studying the dynamics and energy of the oceans in order to better understand the exchange of mass and energy between the ocean and the atmosphere. The satellite will focus its measurements on currents, waves and surface winds.
After 2030, advanced research programs on future space mission concepts will be funded for the next five years or more. A first call for ideas was launched and more than 20 proposals were submitted, including for example a project for a gamma ray observatory, space weather, exploration of Ceres.
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