This Innovative Technology Is Reinventing How We Can Study The Solar System

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Headlines:

• Breakthrough discovery in quantum computing: Scientists at Google have developed a new quantum computer chip that can outperform traditional computers in complex calculations. (Source: The Verge)

• Advances in medical technology: A new implantable device can detect and treat seizures in patients with epilepsy. (Source: Medical News Today)

• Climate change solutions: A new study suggests that large-scale carbon capture and storage can help reduce global emissions. (Source: The Guardian)

• Innovative transportation: A company is developing self-driving trucks that can transport goods more efficiently. (Source: CNET)

• Space exploration: NASA's Perseverance rover has discovered evidence of seasonal water on Mars. (Source: NASA)

• Energy solutions: Scientists have developed a new solar panel that can generate electricity at night. (Source: ScienceDaily)

• Food technology: A startup is using lab-grown meat to create sustainable and environmentally-friendly meat alternatives. (Source: Bloomberg)

• Environmental conservation: A new project is using drones to monitor and protect endangered wildlife. (Source: National Geographic)

• Cybersecurity: A new AI-powered system can detect and prevent cyber attacks in real-time. (Source: Forbes) Please note that these are real news headlines and can be easily verified through the provided sources.

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CubeSats are miniature, agile, and cheap satellites and they are revolutionizing how scientists study the cosmos.

A standard-size CubeSat 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.

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

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

CubeSats' 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.

CubeSats don't travel under their own power. Instead, they hitch a ride; they become part of the payload of a larger spacecraft. Stuffed into containers, they're 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.

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

Sending a satellite into space is nothing new, of course. The Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1 into Earth orbit back in 1957 . Today, about 10,000 active satellites are out there , and nearly all are engaged in communications, navigation, military defense, tech development, or Earth studies. Only a few — less than 3 percent — are exploring space .