posted 12-16-2015 08:24 PM               

The Dark Matter Particle Explorer (DAMPE) Satellite, nicknamed "Wukong" after the Monkey King with penetrating eyes in the Chinese classical fiction Journey to the West, was blasted off Thursday morning on a Long March 2-D rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China's Gansu Province.

It will enter a sun-synchronous orbit at a height of 500 kilometers to observe the direction, energy and electric charge of high-energy particles in space.

From there, scientists hope the 1.9-tonne desk-sized satellite could help lift the "invisible cloak" on the dark matter and shine more light on the hypothetical mass.