A nano-satellite to study the Sun and the Earth
Résumé
Since the launch of the first artificial satellite in 1957, more than 6,000 satellites have been sent into space. Despite technological advances, the space domain remains little accessible. However, with the miniaturization of electronic components, it has recently become possible to develop small satellites with which scientific goals can be addressed. Micro-satellites have demonstrated that these goals are achievable. However, completion times remain long. Today, we hope through the use of nano-satellites to reduce size, costs, time of development and accordingly to increase accessibility to space for scientific objectives. Nano-satellites have become important tools for space development and utilization, which may lead to new ways of space exploration. This paper is intended to present a future space mission enabled by the development of nano-satellites and the underlying technologies they employ. Our future mission expands observations of the Sun (total solar irradiance and solar spectral irradiance measurements) and of the Earth (outgoing long-wave radiation, short-wave radiation measurements and stratospheric ozone measurements). Constellations of nano-satellites providing simultaneous collection of data over a wide area of geo-space may be built later and present a great interest for Sun-Earth relationships.