Hey there, future scientists and explorers! 🌟 Guess what? China and Italy just teamed up to launch a super cool satellite into space! 🚀 It’s called Zhangheng 1-02, and it’s on a mission to help us predict natural disasters like earthquakes and volcanic eruptions! 🌋
What’s the Big Deal?
On Saturday, at exactly 3:56 p.m. Beijing Time, a big rocket called the Long March-2D blasted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China. Its special passenger? The Zhangheng 1-02 satellite! 🌠 This satellite is named after Zhang Heng, an ancient Chinese inventor who made the world’s first seismoscope over 1,800 years ago. A seismoscope is a device that can detect earthquakes! 🌏
A Team Effort 🤝
This satellite was built by both China and Italy working together. Isn’t that awesome? 🌎🇨🇳🇮🇹 It’s got nine different instruments on board, including some that were specially made in Italy. Together, they’re going to keep an eye on things like electromagnetic fields (which are like invisible forces around the Earth) and the ionosphere (a layer of our atmosphere filled with charged particles). ⚡️
Why Does This Matter?
By watching these things, scientists hope to find clues that might help predict when natural disasters are going to happen. Imagine if we could know about an earthquake or a tsunami before it strikes! 🌊 That would give people time to get to safety. Peng Wei, a scientist from the China National Space Administration, says this satellite will help researchers study how changes in the Earth can lead to these big events.
Double the Power! 💪
You know what’s even cooler? There’s already a Zhangheng 1-01 satellite up there, launched in 2018, and it’s still working great! Now, with Zhangheng 1-02 joining it, the two satellites can work together to watch over our planet even better. 🛰️🛰️
Friendship Between Countries 🌐
Francesco Longo from the Italian Space Agency says this mission is a big milestone. He mentioned that Italy, like China, can have earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. By working together, the two countries hope to help protect people from natural disasters. 🤗
A Nod to History 📜
The Italian team named their part of the project “Limadou.” This is the Chinese name for Matteo Ricci, a 16th-century Italian priest who helped connect Italian and Chinese cultures. Just like Matteo Ricci and Marco Polo did hundreds of years ago, this satellite mission is bringing countries together! 🚀❤️
The Journey Continues 🚀
This launch was the 581st mission of China’s Long March rocket series. That’s a lot of trips to space! 🌌 Who knows what amazing discoveries we’ll make next?
Space exploration isn’t just about rockets and satellites; it’s about working together to make our world a better place. Maybe one day, you could be part of a mission like this! Dream big! 🌟
Reference(s):
China launches Zhangheng 1-02 satellite to monitor natural disaster
cgtn.com
