The dark matter particle detecting satellite is one of the five satellites under the CAS’s space science “Pioneer Initiative” program, and is the first of the series scheduled to be launched in mid-December, 2015.

The silicon array detector on the satellite, undertaken by IHEP, was transported to the Jiuquan Satellite Launching Center on November 18th, 2015. The team of the detector simultaneously entered the launching site and is now busy involved in the integrating tests, everything works fine with stability.

The detector is the largest of its kind at home with the highest integration and is one of the key payloads on the satellite. It will be used to detect and measure the tracks and electric charge of high energy cosmic ray particles. The detector started its design in 2013, and its research and development has been jointly carried out through the collaboration with the Geneva University and INFN.

Dark Matter Detecting Satellite Silicon Array Detector （Image by IHEP）