China's space telescope achieves key breakthrough in advanced scientific simulation

China has made progress in scientific data simulation for the Chinese Space Station Telescope (CSST), also known as the Xuntian Space Telescope, marking a crucial step in preparing for the country's flagship space astronomy facility.                                          

To ensure the reliability and timeliness of the telescope's scientific output, Chinese scientists have developed a comprehensive end-to-end simulation suite for the telescope's main optical system and all observation terminals.

Scientific data simulation plays a key role in the telescope's data processing system and is essential for achieving its scientific goals and producing significant results.

The suite achieved high-quality, pixel-level simulation of observation data, which will be used for the comprehensive evaluation of the telescope's overall performance.

The research was published online on Wednesday in a special issue of the journal Research in Astronomy and Astrophysics, and is expected to lay the foundation for high-yield original scientific discoveries after the telescope is launched.

The CSST, a major space astronomy facility under China's manned space program, features a 2-meter-aperture primary mirror and boasts a large field of view, high image quality and wide waveband coverage.

It is expected to drive major scientific discoveries in various astrophysical fields, including cosmology, the study of galaxies, the Milky Way, stars and planets, according to the National Astronomical Observatories under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (NAOC), which led the study.

Scientific simulation is an indispensable step before launch, serving as a "digital rehearsal" for the mission. It generates mock data to validate the system's process flow and optimize observation strategies.

"The work provides clear expectations for the CSST's capabilities in the direct imaging of exoplanets, offering technical guarantees for scientific output in this frontier field," said Ji Jianghui, a researcher at the Purple Mountain Observatory.

Li Cheng, a professor at the Department of Astronomy at Tsinghua University, noted that the papers systematically demonstrated the instrument performance and simulated data of the telescope's modules.

"This offers reliable data support for the development of data processing systems, scientific pre-research and post-launch scientific operations," Li added.

The CSST is an important component of China's space station. After launch, it will operate independently in the same orbit as the space station and will be able to dock with the station for supply, maintenance and upgrades.

Equipped with advanced optical instruments, the telescope is set to conduct high-resolution, large-area, multi-color imaging and seamless spectroscopic surveys. It will also enable detailed observational studies of selected celestial bodies using various instruments, and is expected to achieve breakthroughs in astrophysics, cosmology and fundamental physics.

(With input from Xinhua)