China unveils its plan to discover a second Earth
China intends to discover the first “Earth 2.0”, that is to say an Earth-like planet orbiting around a star similar to the Sun, using a next-generation space observatory which should to be launched at the end of 2026, reported Vice on June 29.
Spearheaded by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the “Earth 2.0” mission would use the first telescope designed to assess the frequency of appearance of worlds similar to ours in our galaxy, the Milky Way, as well as the distance at which they orbit their star.
The mission aims to find " potential Earth twins orbiting stars like the Sun " and to " detect thousands of exo-terrestrial planets over a wide range of orbital periods and across interstellar space " . , according to the detailed 115-page document published on the arXiv.org server .
The focus on this “Earth 2.0” is part of a larger international effort to discover potentially habitable worlds . Once identified, these worlds can be studied more closely to find signs of life – biosignatures – by other telescopes, and provide the beginnings of an answer to the eternal question: are we alone in the universe?
Source : Vice
https://www.ulyces.co/news/la-chine-devoile-son-projet-de-decouvrir-une-deuxieme-terre/