Nanozond 1 (RS 49S)

Nanozond 1 (RS 49S) [Sputnix]

Nanozond-1 is a Russian 3U CubeSat by Sputnix in collaboration with the Sirius educational center.

The Nanozond-1 satellite was built with the help of Sirius educational center students to investigate the conditions and factors in space that affect the surface of the spacecraft itself. Together with NIU "MIET", JSC "Plant PROTON", and the Oryol State University named after Turgenev, they developed a payload: a scanning probe microscope and antennas that will receive data on the impact of the space environment on the satellite body. The device will be available in the first half of this year.

After being launched into orbit, the device will scan the surface of the gold mirror with nanometer accuracy, which is exposed to the full range of space impacts. Surface images will be transmitted via radio to Earth so that specialists can assess the processes of material destruction in space conditions.

Near-Earth space is a hostile environment for man-made vehicles that are launched into orbit. Their shell is influenced by cosmic dust and solar radiation, ion wind and high-energy particles, nanometeorites and satellite fragments. Scientists are investigating how spacecraft surfaces are damaged and what properties materials used to build them should have.