---
title: "China Is Sending a Mission to Study the Sun"
description: "China is set to launch a probe to study solar storms from a Sun-synchronous orbit in the first half of 2022."
date: "2021-01-22"
modified: "2021-01-22"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/china-solar-probe"
categories:
  - "Off-World"
  - "Space"
tags:
  - "china"
  - "solar probe"
  - "solar storms"
  - "space weather"
  - "the digest"
---

# China Is Sending a Mission to Study the Sun

![China is set to launch a probe to study solar storms from a Sun-synchronous orbit in the first half of 2022.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/china-solar-probe.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: People's Daily/Victor Tangermann\</em\>*

## Solar Probe

China has is making massive strides in space exploration. The country has successfully sent multiple probes to the surface of the Moon and is making moves to establish its very own orbital space station — as well as [landing on Mars](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/space-race-boots-mars>).

Now it's also angling to get a closer look at the Sun, [as the *South China Morning Post* reports](<https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3118836/chinas-space-programme-plans-launch-first-mission-sun-next-year>) — a further flex of what China's leadership wants to see become a [growing space supremacy](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/space-race-boots-mars>).

## Predicting Space Weather

The upcoming mission, called the Advanced Space-based Solar Observatory (ASO-S), is scheduled to launch in the first half of 2022 and will "perform 24 hour continuous observation" of our star from a Sun-synchronous orbit of 720 km above Earth for at least four years, [according to state-owned news outlet *Xinhua*](<http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2021-01/21/c_139686590.htm>).

The goal of the probe is to study space weather, particularly solar storms that can wreak havoc on sensitive scientific equipment back on Earth and in its orbit. ASO-S will be able to predict solar storms "at least 40 hours ahead of their arrival," according to *Xinhua*, providing an advanced warning of any damage.

The mission will include three payloads that it will release upon reaching : an X-ray imager to track the Sun's magnetic fields, as well as a magnetic detector and solar telescope.

**READ MORE:** [China’s space programme plans to launch first mission to the sun next year](<https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3118836/chinas-space-programme-plans-launch-first-mission-sun-next-year>) \[*South China Morning Post*\]

**More on solar probes:** *[More on A Space Probe Just Took the Closest Pictures of the Sun Ever](<https://futurism.com/space-probe-closest-pictures-sun>)*

## Author
I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/vtanger.bsky.social>)