Dark Matter Particle Explorer


The Dark Matter Particle Explorer, or DAMPE, is a Chinese Academy of Sciences satellite which launched on 17 December 2015. The satellite was launched on a Long March 2D rocket from Launch Pad 603 at the LC-43 complex, also known as the South Launch Site, at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. It is China's first ever space observatory.
DAMPE is a space telescope used for the detection of high energy gamma rays, electrons and cosmic ray ions, to aid in the search for dark matter. It was designed to look for the indirect decay signal of a hypothetical dark matter candidate called weakly interacting massive particles.
The project is the result of a collaboration among research institutions and universities in Italy, Switzerland and China under the leadership of the Purple Mountain Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Objectives

The scientific objectives of the mission are:
The project is the result of a collaboration among research institutions and universities in Italy, Switzerland and China under the leadership of the Purple Mountain Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The DAMPE mission is funded by the strategic priority science and technology projects in space science of CAS. The institutes that have been part of the collaboration are: IHEP, CAS, Beijing, China; IMP, CAS, Lanzhou, China; NSSC, CAS, Beijing, China; PMO, CAS, Nanjing, China; USTC, Hefei, China; INFN and University of Perugia, Italy; INFN and University of Bari, Italy; INFN and University of Lecce, Italy; INFN and Gran Sasso Science Institute, L'Aquila, Italy; DPNC, University of Geneva, Switzerland.

Results

The first scientific result of DAMPE came in November 2017 as the direct detection of a break in the cosmic electron plus positron energy spectrum at an energy of 0.9 TeV.
In October 2019, DAMPE released its measurement of the proton component of cosmic rays, confirming previous results while also hinting towards new features in the energy spectrum.

Naming

The space observatory is nicknamed Wukong after the Monkey King, who is the hero in the classic Chinese tale Journey to the West.
Literally, "wu" means comprehension or understanding and "kong"（空）means void, so this name could also be understood as "understanding the void", relating to the undiscovered nature of dark matter.
The English name, DAMPE, was a backronym, which was named after a non-player character in The Legend of Zelda, Dampé. In the game, player need Dampé to find the treasure, which match with the mission of DAMPE.