The world’s first commercial space telescope has released its first measurements as it begins its journey to help track nearby stars that could host habitable exoplanets.
The suitcase-sized satellite, called Mauvelaunched on top of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket last November and is the first in a planned fleet of small commercial spacecraft designed to provide observing time to astronomers worldwide.
While Earth observation and telecommunications have for years been dominated by commercial providers, astronomy has so far been fully in the hands of state-funded agencies and institutions. But the outfit behind Mauve – the London-based company Blue Skies Space, a spin-out from University College London – realized that a new, customer-driven approach could provide a faster way to fill the gaps in the scientific understanding of the universe.
On February 9, after months of instrument monitoring, Mauve pointed at a star known as eta Ursa Majoris, capturing a five-second observation in the visible and ultraviolet parts of the light spectrum. Eta Ursa Majoris lies around 104 light-years from Earth, and is one of the brightest stars in the constellation Great Bear (Ursa Major). Much hotter than our sunthe star is especially bright in ultraviolet light, which is Mauve’s specialty.
“We wanted to look at a stable star, which behaves in a constant way over time and for which there have already been high-quality spectra from other instruments in the past,” Blue Skies Space Manager Marcell Tessenyi told Space.com.
Ultraviolet emissions can be measured by The Hubble Space Telescopebut the iconic observatory also covers other areas and is very much in demand. The last dedicated mission to observe stellar ultraviolet light was the International Ultraviolet Explorer, which ran out of fuel in 1996. The Blue Skies team realized that with advances in satellite technology, a small privately funded space telescope can provide the opportunity to obtain such measurements.
Ultraviolet light provides the best opportunity to observe star flares, flashes of high-energy radiation from the magnetically dense regions known as sun spots. Phases wash the environment around the star with streams of energetic particles, which can affect the habitability of planets in the star’s vicinity.
Solar flares produced by the sun can cause radio blackouts and geomagnetic storms on Earth, which disrupt radio communications and affect orbiting satellites. But the sun is a relatively quiet star, and Earth’s magnetic field is strong enough to protect our planet from these eruptions. Marchhowever, lacks a global magnetic field and therefore has its thin atmosphere constantly eroded away space weather.
By monitoring the activity of nearby stars, Mauve will help scientists find potential hosts exoplanets which can potentially accommodate life. The mission is expected to begin delivering science data in the next two weeks, Tessenyi said.
“We are now doing the same set of measurements with all kinds of different stars to find out how the instrument works,” Tessenyi said. “As soon as this phase is closed, we will officially start science operations.”
Research institutions from around the world have already subscribed to the mission, including teams from the US, Japan and several European countries.
Cash flow from Mauve’s operations will help Blue Skies Space complete the development of its next mission, called Blinka 220-pound (100-kilogram) satellite designed to directly observe nearby exoplanets and measure the composition of their atmospheres.
Tessenyi said the company is currently in discussions with its scientific customers to see what other areas of study they would like to see covered by dedicated commercial missions. The company is currently working with the Italian Space Agency to develop the concept of a satellite constellation to measure radio waves emitted by cosmic sources from the orbit of the moon.
“It’s a fascinating opportunity that we have here because obviously the space sector has evolved a lot over the last decade, whether it’s regular cost-effective launch capabilities or the commoditization of cheaper platforms for low earth orbit satellites,” Tessenyi said. “There are many opportunities for many satellites to do space research.”
Nevertheless, he believes that commercial astronomy will always remain in the shadow of large government-funded space missions that push technology to new limits and open entirely new vistas.
“The space agencies are doing an incredible job of pushing the technology, developing these incredibly smart and complex facilities that James Webb and others, who are really developing knowledge and technological capabilities,” Tessenyi said. “We, on the other hand, operate more in the domain of reusing existing components, taking advantage of historical investments by the agencies in technologies, and repurposing them in new ways to try to increase the supply of data.”
The Mauve satellite was developed and built in three years, an extremely fast timeline compared to the often decade-long development timelines of government-funded space missions. The observatory, built by a group of companies from Hungary, the Netherlands, Italy and Latvia, is expected to remain in Earth’s orbit for at least three years.
