INFN-LNF Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati
On the 2nd of February at 8:51 am local time, from the Chinese base of “Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center” (Gobi desert, Inner Mongolia), it was launched the satellite carrying the “HEPD” (High Energic Particle Detector) particle detector built by the Italian researchers of the “LIMADOU Collaboration”, named after Matteo Ricci (missionary and explorer in China in the 16th century).This detector will contribute to measure short term variations – close to the Earth – of the flux of various particles caused by solar, terrestrial and anthropic phenomena.
The general objective of the mission is to board on the satellite some instruments that, from orbit, can investigate different kinds of electromagnetic, ionospheric and magnetospheric phenomena as potential precursors of seismic activity and of their mechanism of generation and interaction with the various geophysical activities.
INFN is one of the most relevant partner of this project. In particular, using the Beam Test Facility, LNF carried out the important task of testing the different components during the assembly of the satellite and verifying the functioning of the HEPD.