ChinaFocus:"Lobstereyes"insky,amajorbreakthroughinChina'sspacesciencetechnology_GuangmingOnlineChinaFocus:"Lobstereyes"insky,amajorbreakthroughinChina'sspacesciencetechnologyBEIJING,Jan.10(Xinhua)--China'snewlylaunchedX-rayastronomicalsatelliteEinsteinProbe(EP)hasadoptedacutting-edgetechnologyinspiredbythefunctioningoflobster'seyes,markingabreakthroughforChinainthefieldofspacescience.TheEPhasbeenbuiltbyaninternationalcollaborativeeffortledbyChina.TheEuropeanSpaceAgencyandtheMaxPlanckInstituteforExtraterrestrialPhysicsinGermanyjointlyparticipatedinthedevelopmentoftheproject.TheFrenchSpaceAgencyprovidedVHF(veryhighfrequency)antennasfortheEP.Shapedlikeadouble-pistiledlotusflowerwith12petalsbloominginspace,theEPisdesignedtodetectoutburstsintheuniverseatX-raywavelengths.Each"petal"isaspecialX-raytelescope.Oneach"petal"thereare36microporousimagers,eachcontainingnearlyonemillionsquareholesthinnerthanasinglestrandofhair.YuanWeimin,theprincipalinvestigatoroftheEP,saidthatmakinganX-raytelescopecapableoffocusingandwide-fieldimagingisverytricky."That'sbecauseX-rayphotonshaveveryshortwavelengthsandhighenergies.Theyareextremelypenetratingandeasilyinteractwithatoms,makingitdifficulttofocusthemthroughrefractionorreflectionlikevisiblelight,"saidYuan,whoisalsoaresearcherattheNationalAstronomicalObservatoriesoftheChineseAcademyofSciences(NAOC)."Ifyouthrowastoneintothewater,thestoneistooheavyandwillsinktothebottom,butifyouthrowthestoneagainstthewaterataverysmallangle,thestonecanbounceoffthesurface.Similarly,ifanX-rayformsaverysmallanglewithareflectivesurface,thenitispossiblefortheX-raytoformareflection.Thisreflectioncanthenbeusedtofocusandcreateanimage,"Yuansaid.Inthisregard,scientistshavetakeninspirationfromtheuniqueeyestructureoflobsters,firstproposedbyAmericanastronomerRogerAngel.Biologistsdiscoveredearlyonthatthelobster'seyeisdifferentfromthatofotheranimals.Lobstereyesaremadeupofnumeroustinysquaretubes,whichpointtothesamesphericalcenter.Thisstructureallowslightfromalldirectionstoreflectinthetubesandconvergeontheretina.Thisgivesthelobsteralargefieldofview.ScientistssimulatedthelobstereyetocreateatelescopethatdetectsX-raysinspace.Throughcooperationwithotherorganizations,theX-rayImagingLaboratoryofNAOCbegantheresearchanddevelopmentworkonlobster-eyeX-rayimagingtechnologyin2010."Afteryearsofefforts,wefinallymadeatechnologicalbreakthrough,"saidZhangChen,assistanttoEP'sprincipalinvestigator.TheteamcarriedoutthevalsidationtestingofthetechnologyonthetelescopeLobsterEyeImagerforAstronomy(LEIA)--apathfinderoftheEPinstrument--whichwaslaunchedinJuly2022.Thetestsrevealedtheworld'sfirstbatchoflarge-fieldX-raysnapshotsoftheskycapturedbytheLEIA.AccordingtoZhang,thepreviousX-raytelescopesonlyhadafieldofviewroughlythesizeoftheMoonasseenfromEarth,whilethefieldofviewoftheEPcouldbeaslargeasabout10,000Moons.Forthefirsttime,largefield-of-viewwhole-skymonitoringandX-rayfocusingandimaginghavebothbeenrealizedatthesametime,whichallowsforefficientmonitoringoftheX-raychangesofcelestialbodies,Zhangadded.Moreover,theEPalsopioneersininstallingCMOSsensors,whichcanprocesswithgoodspectralresolutionsandfastspeed."WehaverealizedtheapplicationofCMOSsensorstoX-rayastronomicalobservationsinspace.ItisaninnovationinX-rayastronomydetectiontechnology,"saidLingZhixing,ascientistoftheNAOC.TheEP,launchedonTuesdayfromtheXichangSatelliteLaunchCenterinsouthwestChina'sSichuanProvince,onceagainbolsteredthecountry'sfleetofspacesciencesatellitesinthevastexpanseofspace,whichincludestheDarkMatterParticleExplorer,theQuantumExperimentsatSpaceScale,theHardX-rayModulationTelescope,andtheAdvancedSpace-basedSolarObservatory."WhileEurope,theUnitedStatesandJapanhavebeendevelopingspacescienceformorethanhalfacentury,spacescienceinChinaisstillinitsinitialstageofdevelopment.However,wehavemaderapidprogressoverthepast20yearsandhaveenteredtheinternationalforefrontincertainfields,"Yuanadded.Thelobster-eyetelescopetechnologywillrevolutionizemonitoringoftheX-raysky,andshowsthestrongscientificpotentialoftheEinsteinProbemission,saidPaulO'Brien,headofAstrophysics,SchoolofPhysicsandAstronomyattheUniversityofLeicester.Editor:DisclaimerTheviewsandopinionsexpressedinthisarticlearethoseoftheauthor's,GMW.cnmakesnorepresentationsastoaccuracy,suitability,orvalidityofanyinformationonthissiteandwillnotbeliableforanyerrors,omissions,ordelaysinthisinformation.