From the Jade Rabbit to the Monkey King

摘要

On December 17,2015, China launched a satellite, the Dark Matter Particle Explorer (DAMPE) with a Long March 2D rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center; On December 21,stations in Kashgar, Miyun,Sanya successfully received data from the satellite and transferred them to the National Space Science Center (NSSC). From the photos, it seems as if it was just the launch of another rocket carrying another satellite. However, something is different this time — the satellite DAMPE, nicknamed "Wukong", is the first satellite launched by China for pure science research — the detection of dark matter.