NASA is testing these Mexican instruments built by UNAM and IPN

For the second time , NASA Tested in sub-orbital flight instruments built by researchers from The National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and the National Polytechnic Institute (IPN), which are essential pieces for building a file CubeSat . nanosatellites.

Rafael Prieto Melendez, Academic Technician from the Institute of Applied Science and Technology (ICAT) and Team Leader at UNAM, identified that the Experimental Module for Iterative Design of Satellite Subsystems Version 2 (Experimental module for iterative design of satellite subsystems, EMIDSS-2) to the stratosphere on a suborbital platform as part of the Fort Sumner 2021 Spring-Summer Program Columbia Science Balloon Attachment (CSBF) from NASA.

“The system we developed was installed on one of these platforms and last Tuesday it made its flight.” Prieto Melendez explained that he left New Mexico, reached a maximum altitude of 36 kilometers above sea level, and traveled with teams from two universities in the United States, as well as one from NASA.

The expert specified that the module is used for testing in near space conditions, thus evaluating and validating subsystem technologies that will later be integrated into the satellites, which, before being sent into space, must be Rated under vacuum conditions, extreme temperatures and cosmic radiation.

“The development of the expedition has changed a little in its original objectives, as it was scheduled to travel a year ago, but as a result of the epidemic, the activities scheduled for last year were suspended, which caused the circumstances that the flights were carried out, as it was not possible for any member of the team to be present when they were incorporated into the flying gondolas.”

Faced with this situation, university students made modifications to the plan and instead of including a model of a CubeSat satellite with deployable solar panels, something very similar to a real satellite, they switched to a similar but more compact system with everything integrated that would work automatically. With only an on/off switch, as there would be no specialist who could make adjustments on site, he explained.

Prieto Melendez added that the system participated in a flight Mullenax Test Flight 1 Flight Platform #710N, last June 8Now they must wait for NASA to send the artifact back to evaluate its work.

mexican hardware

The equipment tested was manufactured by NASA in cooperation with the IPN Center for Aerospace Development (CDA). It On-board computer, sensors for temperature, humidity, ambient pressure and electromagnetic radiation (from ultraviolet to visible light), inertial measurement unit (IMU), magnetometer, as well as using solar panels to collect energy, which will be useful when the equipment is in space.