Major scientific instruments

SPACE

Micius quantum communication satellite Launch: 2016 Status: Operational Mission: To test the feasibility of space-based ultrasecure quantum communication

Dark Matter Particle Explorer (aka Wukong) Launch: 2015 Status: Operational Mission: To detect high-energy gamma rays, electron and cosmic rays to unlock the secrets of dark matter

HIGHLAND

Jimu-1 high-altitude observatory aerostat Launch: 2019 Status: Operational, with two more upgraded versions in the pipeline Location: Qinghai-Tibet Plateau Mission: To collect atmospheric data to study climate change at an altitude of more than 7,000 meters above sea level

Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory Launch: Set to be completed next year Status: Half of the facility became operational this year Location: 4,400 meters above sea level in Daocheng, Sichuan province. Mission: To track the origins of high-energy particles using thousands of detectors spanning over 136 hectares

SURFACE Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope

Launch: Received first data in 2016. Became fully operational in January Status: Operational. Upgrades completed last month Location: Pingtang, Guizhou province Mission: As the world’s largest single-dish radio telescope, it is used to detect radio signals from celestial bodies and search for signs of extraterrestrial life

Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak

Launch: 2006 Status: Operational. Latest version set to launch this year Location: Hefei, Anhui province Mission: Nicknamed the “artificial sun”, the facility aims to mimic the nuclear fusion used to power the sun and create limitless energy on Earth. In 2018, it achieved a temperature of over 100 million C, more than six times hotter than the core of the sun, and sustained this extreme condition for 10 seconds