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China’s Ice Pathfinder satellite sends back first pictures of Arctic region
- Tiny probe is first of 24 that Beijing plans to use to create a polar observation satellite constellation
- It earlier captured more than 1,000 images of the southern polar region
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China’s first satellite dedicated to polar observation has begun sending back images from the Arctic, according to scientists working on the project.
The Ice Pathfinder was launched in September and is the first of 24 probes that will form a polar observation satellite constellation. It had earlier been used to send back more than 1,000 photographs of the southern polar region, according to a report by China Science Daily.
Chen Zhuoqi, an associate professor at Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou and team leader on the project, said the aim of the latest mission was to test the Ice Pathfinder’s observation capabilities.
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He said he hoped it would be able to provide full photographic coverage of the Arctic region within seven days.
Cheng Xiao, another scientist on the team, was quoted as saying that after more than a month of in-orbit debugging and testing, the satellite platforms and sensors were in good operating condition.
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Developed by scientists from Sun Yat-sen University and Beijing Normal University, Ice Pathfinder weighs just 10kg (22lbs) but is equipped with high-resolution cameras and is capable of providing full coverage of both the Earth’s poles.
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