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A small Chinese commercial satellite detected meteors impacting the atmosphere and even filmed the aurora.
The Yangwang 1 satellite (“Look Up 1”), belonging to the Beijing-based space resources company Origin Space, spear in June with three other satellites. With its small optical space telescope, Yangwang 1 uses visible and ultraviolet observations to detect proximity to Earth asteroids.
But the satellite locates much more than space rocks. On August 29, the satellite captured images of the aurora australis, or aurora australis, over the South Pacific. The observation was made while waiting for charged particles to reach Earth following a solar flare that occurred on August 27.
Related: The latest news from the Chinese space program
During its three months in orbit, Yangwang 1 also detected and imaged meteors as they hit Earth’s atmosphere, triggering streaks and lightning visible through the telescope. In addition, the satellite spotted objects such as Chinese space station central module moving within the satellite’s field of view.
The satellite was developed by Shenzhen Aerospace Dongfanghong Satellite Co., Ltd., a branch of China’s leading state-owned satellite manufacturer, the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST). Origin Space says it plans to use Yangwang-1 to create a “treasure map” of potential space resources as part of larger plans for the use of space resources.
In April, the company launched NEO-1, a satellite designed to release and collect a small target to simulate the capture of small pieces of asteroid.
The next step is a planned lunar mission named NEO-2, which is slated to launch in 2022. When the mission was first announced, the satellite was expected to be launched into a geocentric orbit and then gradually increase its orbit before to finally reach out and snap into the moon. (India Chandrayaan-2 The lunar mission also first entered a geosynchronous transfer orbit before reaching lunar orbit.)
Original space Goals eventually exploit space resources for use here on Earth. According to the company’s schedule, around 2025, the NEO-X mission would attempt to capture a small near-Earth asteroid using a net.
The Japanese company ispace is also working on the exploitation of lunar resources. However, the required technology and market realities mean that these companies face difficult challenges in achieving their goals. Former US companies Planetary resources and Deep space industries have both been acquired in recent years and have moved away from their previous and very ambitious asteroid mining goals.
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