Looking for life on other planets and far away stars is an ambitious project, but it starts with smaller goals of exploring closer celestial bodies.
With technological and scientific advancements, these more achievable tasks can be undertaken by organizations that are not necessarily as big as NASA. Many academic institutions entered this arena and their crafts taking off into space can be a small as a box we typically package cereals in.
One such satellite is created in Colorado, with the goal of a space exploration trip that will last over 6 months.
Key Takeaways:
- The Colorado Ultraviolet Transit Experiment has the oddly apropos acronym CUTE, which fits. It’s smaller than the usual version.
- Smaller it may be, but not small in price tag. The craft has a nearly $4 million dollar price tag.
- CUTE will get off the Earth, begin orbiting our home planet and then set it’s navigation to look toward a gaseous suite of hot planets called hot Jupiters.
“In recent years, LASP has led the development of multiple CubeSat missions to explore everything from the sun’s activity to supernovae in distant galaxies.”
Read more: https://scitechdaily.com/exploring-alien-planets-new-cereal-box-sized-spacecraft-has-mighty-goals/
References:
- Sci-tech Daily (Website)
- 9NEWS (YouTube Channel)
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