After more than four years of joint efforts by the government of the Macao Special Administrative Region and the National Space Administration, the "Macau Science 1" satellite was successfully launched on May 21. Currently, all scientific payloads are operating normally, and preliminary analysis of high-quality scientific data shows that the scientific data meets the expected requirements of satellite design. The "Macau Science 1" satellite is composed of two satellites A and B, carrying ten scientific payloads including the VFM vector magnetometer. It is the first international low latitude geomagnetic field and space environment detection satellite, and also the satellite with the highest accuracy in China's geomagnetic field detection. The "Macau Science One" satellite will play an irreplaceable role in major scientific research, national economic needs, Macau's technological development, and Macau's international influence.
The "Macau Science One" satellite team is deeply encouraged by President Xi Jinping's reply and is actively preparing for the follow-up satellite "Macau Science Two" to respond to President Xi Jinping's earnest expectations for the "Macau Science One" satellite team. It is building a new space technology platform in Macau and contributing to the development of technology and industry in Macau.
As a successor satellite of "Macau Science One", "Macau Science Two" satellite will form a satellite constellation on the first satellite, which can provide high-precision observation data covering the global Earth's magnetic field and space weather. The Macau Science Satellite Constellation will consist of four satellites: "Aoke-1" A and B are low latitude satellites (successfully launched); Satellite Constellation II-A, B (planned) will be a large elliptical polar orbit satellite with a perigee of approximately 200km. These four satellites form a constellation and form a network for observation, which can provide high-precision global Earth's magnetic field and space weather spatiotemporal data. This will be the world's first ideal constellation composed of polar orbit satellites and low inclination satellites, forming a three-dimensional observation system for the global high-precision Earth's magnetic field and Earth's space weather three-dimensional structure. In order to simultaneously network and observe the four satellites of the constellation and maximize their observation potential, the "Satellite Constellation 2-A, B" satellites need to be launched as soon as possible in order to be able to network and observe with the "Aoke 1" satellite. According to the current scientific concept, after the implementation of the "Macau Science 2" satellite program, it will form a constellation with the successfully launched "Macau Science 1" satellite, becoming the first constellation for three-dimensional Earth magnetic field observation, providing high-precision three-dimensional spatiotemporal data of the Earth's magnetic field; The first constellation for three-dimensional Earth space environment observation, generating scientific data that has a significant impact on Earth's climate and space vehicles; The constellation with the highest resolution observation of the Earth's surface magnetic field, improving the resolution by one order of magnitude; Make Macau a global center for satellite geomagnetic data/navigation science and applications.
The Macao Science Satellite Project is a major successful practice of technological self-reliance and self-improvement, adhering to the spirit of "national needs and Macao's strengths". It is a brilliant epitome of Macao fully leveraging its own advantages and role, continuously enriching the connotation of "one country, two systems", and better integrating into the overall development of the country. The successful practice of the "Macau Science One" satellite project has proven that the "Macau Science One" model is feasible.
In order to effectively carry out the research and application of the "Macau Science 1" satellite and related follow-up satellite work, and to promote the diversified development of Macau in the field of aerospace technology, the Macau Institute of Space Technology and Application (Mista) was officially established in Macau on September 1, 2023, focusing on scientific research, technological development, and industrial applications in the field of Macau's aerospace technology.