Rev Up the Space Race: China Delays Launch of Xuntian Telescope
China has made an unexpected decision to postpone the launch of its eagerly awaited Xuntian Space Telescope, altering the global race to uncover the enigmas of the universe. Initially planned for takeoff from the Wenchang Space Launch Center in southern China before the year’s end, Xuntian’s launch has been rescheduled for mid-2025. This delay now places it in direct rivalry with the European Space Agency’s Euclid and NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope.
Zhan Hu, a project scientist for the Xuntian Space Telescope System, revealed that the delay was necessary for the team to finalize a pre-flight “technology qualification model”. This model will go through rigorous performance tests early next year. Despite the setback, China is making significant strides by domestically developing all five devices for Xuntian, a first in the country, Scientific American reports.
Quentin Parker, an astrophysicist at the University of Hong Kong, expressed surprise at the delay, noting China’s track record of mission punctuality. The delay affects the race to unravel the mysteries of dark matter and dark energy, which make up most of the mass and energy of the universe.
Xuntian’s ambition is based on its state-of-the-art design and cutting-edge technology. It is equipped with a 2.6-gigapixel measurement camera, and its panoramic field of view is more than 300 times larger than the Hubble Space Telescope. The delay, while unexpected, ensures that all components work seamlessly before going into space.
Xuntian’s role in the global effort
The telescope’s observation range with near-ultraviolet radiation and optical wavelengths complements the focus of Euclid and Roman in the near-infrared region. Their common goal is to map the distances and distributions of galaxies, which provide important insights into the evolution of the universe.
Despite the delay, the Xuntian Space Telescope aims to offer a unique advantage with its off-axis design, which reduces errors in the analysis of weak gravitational lensing. The telescope’s five instruments, including a coronagraph to search for exoplanets and a terahertz receiver to study molecular clouds, promise a decade of groundbreaking observations.
In addition, Xuntian’s rendezvous and docking maneuvers with the Tiangong space station enable refueling, maintenance and upgrades, ensuring its sustained scientific competitiveness. As the global space race intensifies, the delayed launch of the Xuntian Space Telescope will bring a dynamic interplay to determine which telescope will acquire the first groundbreaking data and lead the quest to understand the fundamental nature of our universe.
