LEADING TRIALS TO EXPLORE THE UNKNOWN
Changing the way of life is only one aspect. In recent years, China's innovations are also leading the world efforts to make breakthroughs in the frontier fields of science and technology.
Wukong, name of the Monkey King in the classic Chinese tale Journey to the West which literally means "understanding the void," is used to nickname China's Dark Matter Particle Explorer (DAPME).
In December, 2015, Wukong was launched. It is helping Chinese scientists lift the cloak of invisibility from dark matter.
"DAPME has opened a new window to observe the high-energy universe, showing new physical phenomena beyond our current understanding," said Chang Jin, chief scientist of DAMPE. China's dark matter detection satellite is the most powerful space probe for high-energy cosmic rays. It has the highest energy resolution and particle identification ability, perfect for searching for traces of the annihilation or decay of dark matter particles, scientists say.
In August 2016, China launched the world's first quantum satellite, Quantum Experiments at Space Scale (QUESS). It has realized the distribution of entangled photon pairs over 1,200 kilometers and has proved that quantum entanglement, described by Albert Einstein as a "spooky action," still exists at such a distance.
Nicknamed "Micius" after a 5th Century B.C. Chinese philosopher, the 600-kilogram-plus satellite was sent into a sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 500 kilometers.
Micius is missioned to test quantum encryption and quantum teleportation technology that could one day offer quantum communication which is hack-proof. And the test has established China as a front-runner in the field of quantum communication.
More to be listed are the Jiaolong deep-sea manned submersible, the Tiangong-2 space lab and the FAST radio telescope -- all are carrying out missions to explore the unknown.
