China launches Macau Science 1 satellites to monitor Earth’s magnetic field
- They lifted off atop a Long March 2C rocket on Sunday and will operate in slightly different orbits, from 400km to 500km above the Earth
- Observation data could shed new light on how the magnetic field is generated and maintained, and how it changes over time
Called Macau Science 1, the pair of satellites – weighing 500kg (1,100lbs) each – lifted off atop a Long March 2C rocket from the Jiuquan launch site in the Gobi Desert at 4pm on Sunday, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) said.
The satellites will operate in slightly different orbits, from 400km to 500km (250 to 310 miles) above the Earth. From there, they are expected to make some of the most accurate measurements of the Earth’s magnetic field that could shed new light on how it is generated and maintained, and how it changes over time.
“The observation data will be shared between the CNSA and researchers in Macau, opening a new gateway for the mainland and Macau … to work together in other hi-tech, innovation-oriented areas in the future,” mission chief scientist Zhang Keke, from the Macau University of Science and Technology (MUST), told state-run People’s Daily on Monday.
The magnetic field plays a crucial role in sustaining life on Earth. Without it, the planet would be exposed to strong cosmic radiation and our atmosphere would escape into space – something scientists believe might have happened to Mars.
While the Earth’s magnetism originates from the liquid metal flowing in its extremely hot outer core, the strength of the magnetism has decreased over the years. That decline has been especially alarming in the South Atlantic, between South America and southwest Africa.
A key task for Macau Science 1 is to monitor this so-called South Atlantic Anomaly, and to look some 3,000km into the Earth’s deep interior to see how its dynamo works and evolves over time.