Now, a group at the University of Southampton has outlined a strategy to track dark matter by measuring faint disturbances in zero gravity. Researchers plan to fire lasers through graphite sheets suspended in weightless conditions.
Physicist Tim Fuchs, who leads the project, envisions it as a stepping stone to broader space experiments seeking real evidence of dark matter. He explained: "There are lots of theories as to what dark matter might be but no experiment on Earth has ever come close to detecting it.
"Dark matter remains one of the fundamental questions scientists are still trying to answer - it dictates the structure of our universe but is still undetectable.
"Our experiment is unlike anything attempted before: we'll be levitating graphite between magnets which, in zero gravity, are incredibly sensitive to small forces.
"If there is a sufficiently high density of dark matter, a dark 'wind' will softly push our levitated particles by an amount we can measure - detecting it for the first time ever."
Although dark matter was recognized in the 1930s, it has never been detected directly because it does not interact with light. Yet its gravity influences visible objects, shaping galaxies on a massive scale.
"The movements of stars and galaxies within the universe can only be explained by the gravitational influence of dark matter," Fuchs said.
A satellite called Jovian-1, developed by Space South Central and the universities of Southampton, Portsmouth, and Surrey, will transport the device into orbit early next year. Several launch options are under review.
Weighing 1.5 kilograms, the apparatus will circle Earth for two years, searching for evidence. Fuchs added: "There are theories that say the dark matter interaction rate may actually be so high that it cannot penetrate our atmosphere or the mountains under which detectors have been built.
He suggests this might explain why traditional ground detectors have failed. "Our mission is the first of its kind to use this levitating technology in space - and we hope it will serve as a proof of principle that we can detect dark matter above Earth."
Related Links
Space Tech at University of Southampton
Stellar Chemistry, The Universe And All Within It
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