The Space Variable Objects Monitor (SVOM) spacecraft, jointly developed by China and France, was launched into orbit on June 22 from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan province.
Space Variable Objects Monitor
- China-France cooperation: The Space Variable Objects Monitor (SVOM) is the first astronomy satellite jointly developed by China and France. The two countries also jointly developed and launched an oceanography satellite in 2018
- Payload: The satellite weighs 930 kg and carries four payloads, two of which are developed by France and two by China.
- ECLAIRs and MXT telescopes: Built by France, it will detect and capture GRBs.
- Gamma Ray Burst Monitor (GRB): Built by China, it will measure the spectrum of GRBs.
- Visible Telescope (VT): Developed by China, it will detect and observe the visible emission produced immediately after a GRB.
Objective of Mission
- SVOM will mainly search for GRBs in the universe and measure and study their electromagnetic radiation properties.
- The satellite will also use the explosions to unravel mysteries related to the evolution of the universe and gravitational waves, as both gravitational waves and GRBs are produced by the collision of neutron stars.
Significance
- Better detection: According to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV, SVOM is the most powerful satellite ever built to study gamma-ray bursts and play a key role in astronomical exploration.
- Early Universe: SVOM aims to observe early gamma-ray bursts in the most distant parts of the universe, helping scientists learn more about the childhood of the universe and its evolution.
- Search for kilonovae: The SVOM satellite will search for kilonovae to study the evolution of stars as well as to get answers about the origin of heavy elements like gold and silver in the universe.
Gamma-ray bursts
- GRBs are bursts of highly energetic gamma rays (the most energetic form of light) that last from a second to several minutes.
- Research significance: GRBs are observed and studied because they hold information about violent events, such as the end of the lives of massive stars, the formation of black holes in distant galaxies, and how they shape the universe.
- When a GRB explodes, it briefly becomes the brightest source of cosmic gamma-ray photons in the observable universe.
- Origin: These explosions are believed to occur in remote regions of the universe (as a result of some of the universe’s most explosive events, such as the birth of black holes and collisions of neutron stars) and can explode with a luminosity of up to a quintillion (10 followed by 18 zeros) times greater than the luminosity of the Sun.
- Types: There are two types of GRBs,
- Short GRBs: These are the result of the collision of either two neutron stars or a neutron star and a black hole, resulting in the formation of a black hole and they last for less than two seconds
- Kilonova: Sometimes, short GRBs are followed by kilonova, i.e. it is a burst of electromagnetic radiation that arises from the radioactive decay of chemical elements. The decay can lead to the creation of heavier elements such as gold, silver and platinum.
- Long GRBs: These are produced due to the explosive death of massive stars. They can last for two seconds or more.