The Hunt for Dark Matter

(Beijing) – On Christmas Eve, Chinese scientists got the gift they have been wanting for four years: the country's first space-based dark matter detector beamed back its initial set of observation data, indicating it was ready to start its three-year mission.

Nicknamed Wukong, or Monkey King, based on a character in a 16th century novel, the Dark Matter Particle Explorer (DAMPE) satellite blasted off on December 17 from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the northwestern province of Gansu. Carried on a Long March 2D rocket, the spacecraft has reached an altitude of 500 kilometers, the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), a top government research institute, said.