SAC opens micro-satellite project to young minds

AHMEDABAD: For the first time, space is not longer the exclusive preserve of advanced technology institutes and scientists. Isro's Space Application Center (SAC) has invited engineering institutes across the country to share their research ideas at a workshop on April 28 at Ahmedabad on the best possible ways of using its NEMO-AM satellite observations and for developing critical technologies for such missions in the future.

Next Generation Earth Monitoring and Observation Aerosol Monitoring (NEMO-AM) is one of Isro's most crucial next generation high-performance 'micro-satellite' (small satellite) missions.

The satellite weighs just 15 kg with dimensions of 2.2 ft length, 2 ft breadth and 1 ft in height. It will be launched at an altitude of 500 km above the earth. The project is a joint venture of Isro with the Space Flight Laboratory (SFL) of the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies.

Once launched, the satellite will monitor air quality and pollution caused by suspended airborne solid or liquid particles — called aerosols— which are a big concern. These particles, with a typical size anywhere between a few nanometres and 10 micrometres remain in the atmosphere for at least several hours. The NEMO mission is designed to cover an area of up to 80,000 square kilometers each day.

A senior Isro official said the space agency wants young engineers to explore the potential of multi-angle viewing of the satellite for study of land features and suggest ideas and research proposals. "We also want them to study properties of aerosols in our atmosphere using satellite observations. Most of all we want to utilize the aerosols properties in various scientific investigations," the official said.

For the mission, the Isro team is providing its Canadian partners the scientific expertise for developing the satellite and the crucial algorithm for NEMO-AM. It is for this purpose that the April workshop is being held at SAC Ahmedabad. NEMO-AM spacecraft will be controlled from both SFL in Toronto and Isro's Telemetry Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) facility in Bangalore. The satellite's special camera is capable of taking images from seven different viewing angles.

Last year, in June, Isro's PSLV had launched five small satellites — Canada's CanX-4 and CanX-5; Germany's AISSat-1; and Singapore's two-satellite experiment VELOX-1.

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