Chinese satellite launched into space with a magnetometer from Austria

© Austrian Academy of Sciences

In February, the China Seismo-Electromagnetic Satellite (CSES) will be launched into space from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert.

The satellite will have high-technology from Austrian on board. The Space Research Institute (IWF) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW)and the Institute for Experimental Physics of the Graz University of Technology developed a quantum interference magnetometer for this mission. The Chinese satellite will use it to investigate natural electromagnetic phenomena which are interrelated to earthquake activity on the Earth.

This new type of device on board the satellite is designed to measure constant magnetic fields and alternating magnetic fields. It was built within the context of a collaboration between the National Space Science Center (NSSC) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Space Research Institute of the Austrian Academy of Scienxces and the Institute for Experimental Physics of the Graz University of Technology and will significantly improve the accuracy of the magnetic field measurements.