A Long March-3B carrier rocket carrying ChinaSat 6D communication Satellite blasts off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center (Sichuan Province, Southwest China), April 15, 2022. (Photo/Xinhua)
Chinese scientists will soon have a space-based tool that will allow them to improve their research on pollution and the atmosphere.
According to the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology’s designers, the Atmospheric Environmental Surveyor Satellite will begin its monitoring operations after passing in-orbit tests.
The satellite, weighing 2.6-metric tons, was launched Saturday by a Long March 4C rocket from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center (Shanxi province). It entered a sun-synchronous orbit 705 km above Earth.
It will be used to monitor air pollution, greenhouse gases, and other environmental elements. The designers stated that it will provide data for climate change research and ecological changes research, and help to predict agricultural yields and hazards.
Researchers from the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science of China Academy of Sciences, who participated in the development of this scientific payload, revealed that the spacecraft carries five atmospheric monitoring instruments, including an environmental monitor instrument and a directional Polarization camera.
It is the first satellite to use a laser radar for carbon dioxide detection.
It can also monitor other pollutants such as formaldehyde, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide. It can also be used to quantitatively observe atmospheric particulate pollutants.
The Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, and the China Meteorological Administration will be the major users of the satellite’s data.
According to the China National Space Administration (China National Space Administration), the satellite will give China a world class capability to perform atmospheric remote-sensing missions to support its efforts in achieving low carbon development and reducing pollution.
The administration also stated that it will launch a satellite to measure greenhouse gases in the near future.
A Long March 3B carrier rocket blasted off Friday from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center (Sichuan province) just hours before the Taiyuan launch. It launched the ChinaSat 6D communication satellite into orbit.
According to its designers, the China Academy of Space Technology created the satellite and will transmit radio and TV signals to small countries in South China Sea and the Pacific Ocean.
China has launched 11 space missions so far in this year.
At the beginning of 2022, the nation’s largest space contractors announced that they would conduct more than 50 launches.
