Virginia Tech researchers pioneer ultraviolet camera system for CubeSats to advance space weather studies

Virginia Tech researchers are collaborating with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory to gain new insights on space weather and Earth's upper atmosphere.  

“The idea was to design a highly capable ultraviolet instrument for a small satellite,” said Leon Harding, principal investigator and former research associate professor with the Virginia Tech National Security Institute. “We have achieved this by leveraging the extraordinary sensitivities of the electron multiplying charged coupling device, which is capable of operating in space and obtaining extremely faint signals in challenging imaging environments.” 

Moving into the final phase of a three-year project, the work builds on Virginia Tech’s expertise in the field of heliophysics, using ground-based, balloon-based, and rocket-based experiments to probe the atmosphere to understand various transport mechanisms. Specifically, the project is investigating nitric oxides downward movement in the atmosphere and impact of the ozone layer.

"We're working to measure nitric oxide in the polar night,” said Samantha Kenyon, research assistant professor in the Kevin T. Crofton Department of Aerospace and Ocean Engineering and affiliate faculty with the Virginia Tech National Security Institute. “Throughout the winter on the poles, there's no sunlight that enters the atmosphere. This causes a type of oxygen-nitrogen element to build up in those areas.”  

With the third phase of the current project wrapping up, the team hopes to move forward to secure funding for the full satellite build. Researchers also believe the technology could play a role in near future NASA missions, involving the Habitable Worlds Observatory, which is the next scheduled astronomy flagship mission. 

Part of NASA's Heliophysics Technology and Instrument Development for Science program, the project aims to develop this cutting-edge ultraviolet camera system for miniaturized satellites called CubeSats. This will allow researchers to measure nitric oxide levels more accurately and at a lower cost compared to larger, more expensive space missions. 

The heart of the CubeSat is the electron multiplying charged coupling device, which will make it possible to detect nitric oxide with a really low level of light, which is crucial given the small telescope size.

“What we want are more measurements to give us more information,” said Scott Bailey, professor in the Bradley Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and director of the Virginia Tech Center for Space Science and Engineering Research. “We're learning a way to take measurements with the CubeSat at a much lower cost and in a more efficient way than the methods we’ve used before. Ultimately, we want to fly a satellite that contains an instrument like this every day.” 

The Heliophysics Technology and Instrument Development for Science program is part of the NASA Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Science. One charter of the program is education and workforce development. 

“We planned for a significant amount of student support so the next generation of scientists and engineers can learn,” Harding said. "The project allowed us to teach students to think through the implications of their design choices. At its core it is very interdisciplinary, which gives the students the opportunity to wear many hats, depending on the day, or on the problem."