{"id":13007,"date":"2024-11-13T22:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-11-13T22:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/?p=13007"},"modified":"2024-10-17T10:21:06","modified_gmt":"2024-10-17T10:21:06","slug":"cubesats-the-tiniest-of-satellites-are-changing-the-way-we-explore-the-solar-system","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/cubesats-the-tiniest-of-satellites-are-changing-the-way-we-explore-the-solar-system\/","title":{"rendered":"CubeSats, the tiniest of satellites, are changing the way we explore the solar\u00a0system"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n\n Mustafa Aksoy<\/a>, University at Albany, State University of New York<\/a><\/em><\/span>\n\n

Most CubeSats weigh less than a bowling ball, and some are small enough to hold in your hand. But the impact these instruments are having on space exploration is gigantic. CubeSats \u2013 miniature, agile and cheap satellites \u2013 are revolutionizing how scientists study the cosmos.<\/p>\n\n

A standard-size CubeSat<\/a> is tiny, about 4 pounds (roughly 2 kilograms). Some are larger, maybe four times the standard size, but others are no more than a pound. <\/p>\n\n

As a professor of electrical and computer engineering<\/a> who works with new space technologies, I can tell you that CubeSats are a simpler and far less costly way to reach other worlds.<\/p>\n\n

Rather than carry many instruments with a vast array of purposes, these Lilliputian-size satellites typically focus on a single, specific scientific goal \u2013 whether discovering exoplanets<\/a> or measuring the size of an asteroid. They are affordable throughout the space community, even to small startup, private companies and university laboratories. <\/p>\n\n

Tiny satellites, big advantages<\/h2>\n\n

CubeSats\u2019 advantages over larger satellites are significant. CubeSats are cheaper to develop and test. The savings of time and money means more frequent and diverse missions along with less risk. That alone increases the pace of discovery and space exploration. <\/p>\n\n

CubeSats don\u2019t travel under their own power. Instead, they hitch a ride; they become part of the payload of a larger spacecraft. Stuffed into containers, they\u2019re ejected into space by a spring mechanism attached to their dispensers. Once in space, they power on. CubeSats usually conclude their missions by burning up as they enter the atmosphere after their orbits slowly decay. <\/p>\n\n

Case in point: A team of students at Brown University built a CubeSat in under 18 months for less than US$10,000<\/a>. The satellite, about the size of a loaf of bread and developed to study the growing problem of space debris<\/a>, was deployed off a SpaceX rocket in May 2022<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n

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