China’s Space Astronomy and Solar Physics in 2011—2012

In the first part of this paper,we describe briefly the mid and long-term plan of Chinese space astronomy,its preliminary study program,the current status of satellite missions undertaken, and the current status of astronomy experiments in China's manned space flight program.In the second part,the recent research progress made in the fields of solar physics is summarized briefly, including solar vector magnetic field,solar flares,CME and filaments,solar radio and nonthermal processes,EUV waves,MHD waves and coronal waves,solar model and helioseismology,solar wind and behavior of solar cycle.

Characterization of silicon microstrip sensors for space astronomy

Silicon microstrip detectors are widely used in experiments for space astronomy.Before the detector is assembled,extensive characterization of the silicon microstrip sensors is indispensable and challenging.This work electrically evaluates a series of sensor parameters,including the depletion voltage,bias resistance,metal strip resistance,total leakage current,strip leakage current,coupling capacitance,and interstrip capacitance.Two methods are used to accurately measure the strip leakage current,and the test results match each other well.In measuring the coupling capacitance,we extract the correct value based on a SPICE model and two-port network analysis.In addition,the expression of the measured bias resistance is deduced based on the SPICE model.

Space Astronomy

This chapter reports the recent progress on the space astronomy missions of China,including the following missions:currently operating in orbit,e.g.,DAMPE,Insight-HXMT,GECAM,Polar Light,GRID and Lobster-eye X-ray Satellite;approved and under development for launch in the next a couple of years,e.g.,SVOM and EP;planned experiments to be onboard China’s Space Station in the next several years,e.g.,CSST,HERD,POLAR-2,DIXE and Ly RIC;candidate missions that have passed the first round of review of Strategy Priority Program on space science(Ⅲ)of the Chinese Academy of Sciences,e.g.,eXTP,DAMPE-2,Earth 2.0,DSL and CHES.

Simulation study of the performance of the Very Large Area gamma-ray Space Telescope

The Very Large Area gamma-ray Space Telescope(VLAST)is a mission concept proposed to detect gamma-ray photons through both Compton scattering and electron–positron pair production mechanisms,thus enabling the detection of photons with energies ranging from MeV to TeV.This project aims to conduct a comprehensive survey of the gamma-ray sky from a low-Earth orbit using an anti-coincidence detector,a tracker detector that also serves as a low-energy calorimeter,and a high-energy imaging calorimeter.We developed a Monte Carlo simulation application of the detector using the GEANT4 toolkit to evaluate the instrument performance,including the effective area,angular resolution,and energy resolution,and explored specific optimizations of the detector configuration.Our simulation-based analysis indicates that the current design of the VLAST is physically feasible,with an acceptance above 10 m^(2)sr which is four times larger than that of the Fermi-LAT,an energy resolution better than 2%at 10 GeV,and an angular resolution better than 0.2◦at 10 GeV.The VLAST project promises to make significant contributions to the field of gamma-ray astronomy and enhance our understanding of the cosmos.

Progress Report on ASO-S: 2022–2024

The Advanced Space-based Solar Observatory(ASO-S)marked China's first comprehensive solar mission in space.Drawing upon the previous reports covering 2018-2020 and 2020-2022,we present here an update on the ASO-S made from 2022 to 2024.In August 2022,ASO-S completed its Phase D study and was successfully launched on October 9,2022.The commissioning phase was carried out and concluded within the first nine months following the launch.The data and associated analysis software have been opened to the community and the research on the early ASO-S data has been well developed.We anticipate also the achievements in data research pertaining to ASO-S in the near future.

Progress on SVOM Satellite Development

SVOM(Space-based multiband Variable Object Monitor)is a Chinese-French space mission mainly designed to study Gamma-Ray Bursts.The satellite carries four instruments to detect and localize the prompt GRB emission and measure the evolution of the afterglow in the visible band and in soft X-rays,and a VHF communication system enables the fast transmission of SVOM alerts to the ground.The ground segment includes an array of wide-angle cameras and two follow-up telescopes.It was launched into an orbit of about 635 km on 22 June 2024,with three years of nominal operations and an extension of two years.

Status of the Advanced Space-based Solar Observatory

The Advanced Space-based Solar Observatory(ASO-S)was formally approved at the end of 2017.In the past two years,ASO-S underwent its official Phase-B and Phase-C studies.The Phase-B study was successfully accomplished by the end of April 2019,and the Phase-C study is being now undertaken until August 2020.Then the flight model is planned to finish within 16 months.Around the end of 2021,ASO-S will be ready in the launch state.We briefly summarize the history of ASO-S,the phase-B studies,and the phase-C studies.

Space Solar Physics in China

The activities of Chinese space solar physics in 2018–2020 are going on smoothly.Besides the missions of ASO-S and CHASE which are in the engineering phases,there are quite a number of projects which are in the pre-study stage(conception study)or have finished the pre-study stage,constituting a rich pond for the selection of next solar mission(s).This paper describes in brief the status of all these related projects.

Space Solar Physics in China:2020-2022

To follow up the last report two years ago,what happened from 2020 to 2022 deserves specially mentioning:CHASE was successfully launched on 14 October 2021;ASO-S will finish soon its Phase-D study and is scheduled for launch in October 2022;four solar mission candidates are being undertaken the engineering project evaluations;three solar mission proposals are being undertaken the background project evaluations;there are also quite a number of pre-study space solar physics projects getting either newly supported or finished.This paper describes in brief the status of all these related projects.

Progress Report on ASO-S

The Advanced Space-based Solar Observatory(ASO-S)started officially its engineering phases at the beginning of 2018.In the past two years from 2020 to 2022 ASO-S completed smoothly the Phase-C study and is now undertaking the Phase-D study.The launch date is finally set in October of 2022.We here briefly summarize the progress of ASO-S from the late Phase-C to the current Phase-D studies,and plan the scientific affairs around the launch.

Progress on SVOM Satellite Development

SVOM(Space-based multiband astronomical Variable Objects Monitor)is a Chinese-French space mission dedicated to studying Gamma-Ray Bursts.The satellite has four instruments to detect and localize the prompt GRB emission and measure the evolution of the afterglow in the visible band and in X-rays,and a VHF communication system enabling the fast transmission of SVOM alerts to the ground.The ground segment includes an array of wide-angle cameras and two follow-up telescopes.It was planned to be in orbit in 2021,and now has to be delayed about six months because of COVID-19 epidemic.