Real World: CubeSats – Changing the Way We Do Science
CubeSats are changing the way we collect information. They may be small, but these little satellites are helping us answer big questions. And using a swarm of CubeSats can give us simultaneous measurements without repeatedly sending commands to the satellite to tell it what to do.
Discussion and writing prompts
1. The video explains that multiple CubeSats can work together to collect data at the same time. Why might scientists learn more from several small satellites working together than from one large satellite?
2. Advances in technology have made CubeSats smaller, less expensive, and more accessible than traditional satellites. How do new technologies help scientists answer questions that may have been difficult or impossible to investigate in the past? Explain how reducing the cost and size of scientific tools can lead to more discoveries and allow more people or organizations to participate in space research.
3. Imagine you are part of a NASA team developing a CubeSat mission. What question about Earth, space, or another planet would you want to investigate, and what data would your CubeSat collect? Describe your mission, explain why the information being collected is important, and discuss how the data collected could benefit scientists or people on Earth.
Background Information
Grades 4 through 12
- NASA 360 NASA's First Deep Space CubeSats (video)
Grades 5 through 12
- NASA eClips Real World: CubeSats – A Satellite Small Enough to Fit in Your Hand (video)
- NASA What Does a CubeSat Do? (video)
Grades 6 through 12
- NASA CubeSats Overview (webpage, grades 6-12) UPDATED URL
- NASA What are SmallSats and CubeSats? (webpage, grades 6-12)
- NASA CubeSat Launch Initiative (webpage, grades 6-12)
- NASA JPL Crazy Engineering: CubeSats (video, grades 6-12)
- NASA JPL CubeSats and SmallSats (webpage)
- EarthSky Wall-E and Eva Are Going to Mars, Too (webpage)
Activities
Grades 3 through 8
- NASA Climate Kids CubeSat Builder: Build a NASA Spacecraft (webpage)
- AXM Paper Space Scale Models (webpage)