Academia Sinica, the nation’s top research institute, signed an agreement with a Japanese space research institution in Taipei on Friday to participate in a Japan-led mission that will study the physics of outer space near the Earth.
Signed by Academia Sinica president Wong Chi-huey (翁啟惠) and Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS) director-general Saku Tsuneta, the five-year agreement represents the first formal space research mission in which Taiwan will work with a world-renowned space institution, Academia Sinica said in a statement.
In Taiwan, the project will be led by the Academia Sinica Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics in partnership with National Cheng Kung University.
The mission, called Exploration of Energization and Radiation in Geospace (ERG), involves a small scientific research satellite that will study the behavior of highly charged electrons in the magnetosphere, the region of outer space near the Earth.
That is where the Van Allen radiation belt captures a huge volume of the highly charged energy particles that are the focal point of the study.
Japanese scientists hope that data from the satellite will help them explain how these high-energy electrons are born as they generate and vanish repeatedly during space storms, and how space storms themselves develop.
The Taiwanese team will deliver one of the project’s five key instruments, an LEP-e analyzer that collects low-energy electron data, to help the ERG satellite observe the distribution of energy and density of low-energy electrons surrounding Earth, Academia Sinica said.
The other four instruments are middle and high-energy electron analyzers, and low and middle-energy ion analyzers.
With all the data collected, researchers “can paint a comprehensive picture of the magnetosphere,” said Wang Shiang-yu, a research fellow at Academia Sinica.
By paving the way for future international opportunities in space research, the agreement will allow Taiwanese scientists to access ERG data for advanced research in geospace physics and increase their world-class space research opportunities.
It will also strengthen Taiwan’s capability in building top-notch instruments for space science missions, Academia Sinica said.
Part of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), ISAS leads Japanese scientific satellite mission developments.
JAXA is one of the world’s major space agencies, together with NASA and the European Space Agency.
An exhibition demonstrating the rejuvenation of the indigenous Kuskus Village in Pingtung County’s Mudan Township (牡丹) opened at the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency’s conservation station in Taipei on Thursday. Agency Director-General Lin Hwa-ching (林華慶) said they have been promoting the use and development of forestry resources to local indigenous residents for eight years to drive regional revitalization. While modern conservation approaches mostly stem from western scientific research, eco-friendly knowledge and skills passed down through generations of indigenous people, who have lived in Taiwan for centuries, could be more suitable for the environment, he said. The agency’s Pingtung branch Director-General Yang Jui-fen (楊瑞芬)
Restaurants in New Taipei City, Hsinchu City and Hsinchu County are to be included in the Michelin Guide’s review for the first time this year, alongside existing entries from Taipei, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung, the France-based culinary publication said yesterday. This year’s edition of the Michelin Guide Taiwan is to be unveiled on Aug. 19 in Taipei. In addition to the coveted star ratings, Michelin Taiwan would announce its “Bib Gourmand” selections — a distinction awarded to establishments offering high-quality food at moderate prices — on Aug. 12. This year’s Bib Gourmand list would also feature restaurants in New Taipei City, Hsinchu
Rallies supporting recall efforts targeting Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers as well as a rally organized by the KMT opposing the recall campaigns are to take place in Taipei today. Traffic controls were in place on Taipei City Hall Road starting from 10pm last night, and would be in place on Jinan Road Sec 1 from 8am today, police said. Recall campaign groups in Taipei and New Taipei City advocating the recall of KMT legislators, along with the “Safeguard Taiwan Anti-Communist Alliance” have announced plans for motorcycle parades and public rallies in both cities today. Permission has been granted for campaigners to hold
M1A2T ABRAMS TANKS: Thirty-eight of the 108 armored vehicles were delivered in December last year, with the rest to be delivered between later this year and next year The military is to live stream a round of live-fire training sessions on Thursday featuring its newly delivered M1A2T Abrams tanks, allowing the public to witness the training results firsthand, the Ministry of National Defense said. Based on the ministry’s plan, the live-fire training session, scheduled to take place at an army tank training ground in the Kengzihkou (坑子口) area of Hsinchu County, is to feature the US-made armored vehicles firing their 120mm smoothbore guns at moving and stationary targets, while stationary or in motion. At least one senior government official is expected to preside over the round of training sessions, per
RSS