When CubeSats emerged as an educational project allowing STEM students access to space data, few could imagine what a bright future these satellites would have. However, things have changed since the 1990s, and today, CubeSat technology is integral to many missions, including top research initiatives from international space agencies.
Today, it’s possible to equip CubeSats with practically any sensors they need to complete their mission goals, but the primary piece of equipment for these miracle workers is still a camera. Of course, space imagery has gone a long way, too. Below, we will tell you everything you need to know about camera for CubeSat, common types, uses, and mission goals.
What are the goals of CubeSat?
The first aspect that defines the camera for the CubeSat function is the exact space mission goals. Today, a CubeSat can be used for various missions, but the most common ones still include:
● Educational projects, allowing students to demonstrate and test new technologies, as well as gain necessary practice for future STEM careers. This may not sound too impressive, but a lot of bright technologies, including the very CubeSats we rely on today, have emerged as educational projects.
● Technology demonstration, varying from large-scale projects sponsored by international space agencies to smaller but equally impressive tech designed by students. For example, the very first CubeSat, launched into space in 2003, was also a university project, AAU, designed in Denmark. Today, NASA and European agencies are launching CubeSat tech for larger-scale tech demonstrations – for example, capturing images of asteroid redirection mission, DART, and its effects.
● Scientific research, that in the case of CubeSat tech, generally has to do with Earth observation and assessing the impact of climate change on our planet. For example, the TROPICS mission uses CubeSat camera tech to study how rising temperatures intensify cyclones in the tropics.
Clearly, different mission goals require different CubeSat camera designs, systems, and resolutions – so let’s jump straight to those!
What camera is used in CubeSat?
The most standard and affordable CubeSat camera system is not too different from the cameras on our smartphones. It’s larger, of course, and more advanced, but the logic is the same – the optical lens focuses light on an object and captures its reflection, which later translates into a digital image. Such a basic camera can provide RGB (red, green, blue) images – that is, camera images in the visible light spectrum.
But the light spectrum is vaster than this – in fact, it is vaster than the combination of red, green, and blue wavelengths our eyes can discern. So, today’s CubeSat camera tech can also work in multispectral (capture up to six wavelengths) or even hyperspectral range that discerns hundreds of wavelengths not visible to the human eye.
Both CubeSat camera developments have their specific uses. For example, a multispectral camera is often installed on Earth observation satellites to monitor vegetation. A hyperspectral CubeSat camera will usually work for defence, surveillance, deep space research, or closer to Earth, commercial agriculture, and mining – because it ensures an unprecedented level of detail.
Then again, to really ensure an unprecedented level of detail, a broad wavelength range is not enough. That’s where CubeSat camera resolution comes in. Similarly to our land-based cameras, the higher the resolution, the higher the level of detail. In the context of CubeSat camera tech, resolution types are subdivided into:
● Low: most basic type, sufficient for educational purposes that must have an affordable camera for CubeSat price. But even such a camera can capture comprehensive images from 600 km altitude, covering up to 600 meters per pixel.
● Medium: common for an Earth observation CubeSat, a medium camera can take more detailed images of smaller land areas, up to 50 square meters per shot.
● High: the best camera for CubeSat example can capture the most detailed, high-definition images of small patches on the ground, so this tech is usually used in urban planning, commercial agriculture, and military surveillance.
What are the sensors used in CubeSat?
Besides cameras, a CubeSat can carry a series of other sensors necessary to complete mission goals. Here are some widespread examples:
● Environmental sensors usually include equipment that measures temperature, radiation, or magnetic fluctuations;
● Communication sensors are a must to transmit data back to Earth and receive commands from ground stations, so all CubeSat must carry those, too;
● Scientific tools can include spectrometers, particle detectors, and any other tools necessary to complete mission goals that are getting ever more advanced.
What’s Next for CubeSat Camera Technology?
Even though today’s CubeSats are stuffed with all kinds of sensors imaginable, the camera will remain one of its primary tools for a long time. Besides, hyperspectral imagery is actively developing, which will soon allow us to obtain even more data on our own planet or deep-space objects. Right now, the biggest challenge is the sheer amount of computing power necessary to analyze all of this information, but advances in AI are already on their way to address this problem, freeing up ‘human’ hours for more creative scientific tasks. But we still have a long way to go, and each new development will surely be more exciting than the last!
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