CubeSats to Further Fundamental Science
CubeSats are the new kids on the block. Small, functional and inexpensive with a fast deployment time, these tiny spacecrafts are quickly becoming a go-to for space exploration, IoT, weather forecasts, inter-satellite communications and, last but not the least, conducting fundamental science experiments in space. With the advent of microelectronics, it has become possible to send compact, capable laboratories into space using satellites the size of a cereal box.
In this way, CubeSats are making space more accessible and also steering in an era of space experimentation - ranging from quantum physics to chemistry to biology to geology. Removing gravity removes obstacles to bacteria growth, stem cell research and growing new tissue, among other things, letting space agencies and pharmaceutical companies develop new treatments. Rising above the Earth’s curvature and the turbulence of its atmosphere makes space a natural choice for quantum mechanical experiments where scientists require photons to travel a long way without losses. These are just a few examples to showcase the allure of space for fundamental physics experiments.
Conventional space experiments, such as the Hubble Space Telescope or the James Webb Telescope are big, expensive and take time to deploy. Also, they are shared by a multitude of research partners, limiting the time available for each activity. Building and launching a CubeSat dedicated to a single application would be extremely useful, providing a full-time, user-tailored platform for experiments.
To illustrate, here is a tiny sampling of the CubeSat missions being planned around the world which will conduct experiments in space:
1 . ROKS — Responsive Operations and Key Services: ROKS will be a proof of concept mission, targeted to be launched by 2021 by Craft Prospect. It will demonstrate satellite-to-Earth Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) for augmentation of future encryption services. ROKS will also carry a responsive operations payload which will demonstrate neural networks working in-orbit for cloud detection and decision making without always relying on ground station to send commands to the satellite. ROKS will pave the way for groundbreaking changes in data protection and encryption and onboard automation.
2. SPARCS — the Star-Planet Activity Research CubeSat: The mission which SPARCS will undertake is monitoring the flares and sunspot activity of M-type stars, also called red dwarfs, in the far- and near-ultraviolet. The purpose of this is to assess how habitable the space environment is for planets orbiting them. SPARCS will also advance ultraviolet detector technology by flying high quantum efficiency, UV-optimized detectors developed at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, led by Shouleh Nikzad. These Delta-doped detectors have a long history of deployment demonstrating greater than five times the quantum efficiency of the detectors used by the Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) mission.
3. AcubeSAT, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece: AcubeSAT will demonstrate lab-on-a-chip technology for biological experiments to be performed in Low Earth Orbit. It was selected as part of the “Fly your satellite” call by ESA.
4. UCAnFly, Universidad de Cadiz, Spain: UCAnFly will measure magnetic fields with low noise using shielded magnetoresistive sensors. This was also selected as part of the “Fly your satellite” program by ESA.
5. Lunar Flashlight: This innovative CubeSat will shine a laser down to the dark side of the moon to map the lunar south pole for volatiles to address the question: Is there water on the moon? Lunar Flashlight will also demonstrate several technological firsts: It aspires to be the first CubeSat to reach the Moon, the first planetary CubeSat mission to use green propulsion, and the first mission to use lasers to look for water ice.
The above are only a small selection of the CubeSat missions that are being planned at the moment. As the technology proves itself as a viable experimental platform, more scientists will inevitably turn to it as a more cost-effective option. At Craft Prospect, we are currently neck-deep in the ROKS mission, exploring the use of CubeSats for one of its many potential scientific applications.
To find out more about past, present and future CubeSat missions, click here, where you can browse through a database of NanoSats.
