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Dark matter probe in search of a name
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PEOPLE around the world are being invited to submit their name suggestions for a Chinese dark matter probe satellite that’s set to launch before the year’s end.
A competition to name the Dark Matter Particle Explorer (DAMPE) was announced yesterday at the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Purple Mountain Observatory in Nanjing, capital of east China’s Jiangsu Province.
Entries will be accepted until October 31 at scitech.people.com.cn/DAMPE.
The five grand prize winners will be invited to watch the satellite’s launch at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, the organizers said, adding that 20 first prizes, 50 second prizes, 100 third prizes and 500 runner-up awards are also up for grabs.
DAMPE is the first of five research satellites planned to be launched under the academy’s space science program, said Chang Jin, a researcher at the observatory and the project’s chief scientist.
Scientists generally agree on the existence of dark matter, but it has never been directly detected.
Many, including Nobel prize laureate Yang Zhenning, believe that development of dark matter theory might lead to understanding phenomena that can’t be explained with current knowledge, and trigger “revolutionary progress” in physics.
DAMPE, which cost about US$100 million to develop, looks like an upside down layer cake. It weighs 1.9 tons, has a payload of 1.4 tons and is expected to have a lifespan of about three years.
The satellite will orbit the earth to study the origin of cosmic rays and observe high-energy gamma rays. The data it collects could provide solid evidence for the existence of dark matter particles.
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