China to Debut National Space-Based Observatory for Sun Exploration in October

BEIJING (Sputnik) - China plans to launch in October its first comprehensive probe to study the processes occurring on the Sun, the Zijinshan Astronomical Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences said.

The so-called Advanced Space-based Solar Observatory (ASO-S) is scheduled to launch from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in October, with no precise date set so far.

The 888-kilogram (1,958-pound) satellite will carry out observations of the Sun's magnetic field, solar flares, and coronal mass ejections on a Sun-synchronous orbit 720 kilometers (447 miles) above the Earth. The mission is expected to last four years.

The ASO-S will record in detail the "solar storm" of solar cycle 25, the current solar cycle which began in December 2019. The satellite will generate up to 500 gigabytes of data per day and all of this scientific information and software will be available to users around the world.

China hopes that ASO-S will allow scientists to predict the occurrence of solar flares and their impact on people.

The Chinese Academy of Sciences has launched a global call to collect public suggestions for the name of the new probe.