A Deep Space Radiation Probe developed by National Central University’s Department of Space Science and Engineering was successfully launched into space on Wednesday.
Taiwan’s first lunar mission is expected to land on the moon in four months.
The probe was launched aboard the Hakuto-R Mission 2 Resilience lunar lander developed by Japanese start-up ispace Inc on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in Florida, the university said.
Photo: screen grab from NASA livestream
It marks the first scientific payload to be made in Taiwan to leave Earth’s orbit, it added.
The probe took two years for university students and faculty to develop.
It is designed to be compact and lightweight, coming in at 399g, and was developed using the most successful flight records and the highest level of technical readiness, it said.
The bottom left-hand corner of the probe has the university’s insignia and the words: “Made in Taiwan,” it added.
The lunar lander separated from the launch vehicle 1 hour, 32 minutes after launch, the university said.
The probe was expected to begin operating 36 hours later when the department would begin collecting data for analysis, the university added.
The primary objective of the mission is to measure the ionizing radiation environment between the Earth and the moon, and on the lunar surface, it said.
“To have a deeper understanding of space radiation, we hope to measure it from Earth to the moon and the speed of its accumulation, which can serve as a reference for space missions, or be considered when designing electronic and space products,” department chair Loren Chang (張起維) wrote on social media last year when the probe was handed over to ispace.
The achievement was the result of more than 50 years of space science development in the department, marking not only a scientific breakthrough for the nation, but letting the world see Taiwan, Chang wrote.
“This project began in 2022 and we went through five different revisions before we got to the version that we felt comfortable with,” Chang told the Central News Agency via telephone.
“By understanding the radiation dose, we can better prepare for crewed missions to the moon and deep space,” he said.
Asked how he and his team felt after the successful launch, Chang said that they were all “very relieved,” as the launch occurred with no delays.
There are several critical stages during a launch, including reaching maximum dynamic pressure and the separation of the spacecraft from the launch vehicle, Chang said.
“These all went off without a hitch, so we’re very, very relieved,” he said.
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