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Remote Sensing
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Advances in CubeSats for Earth Observation
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Advances in CubeSats for Earth Observation

A special issue of Remote Sensing (ISSN 2072-4292). This special issue belongs to the section "Satellite Missions for Earth and Planetary Exploration".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2025) | Viewed by 5092

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Massimiliano Pastena

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
European Space Agency/ESTEC, Keplerlaan 1, 2201 AZ Noordwijk, The Netherlands
Interests: earth observation; CubeSats; NewSpace; earth science remote sensing
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Marco D’Errico

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Engineering, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, Caserta, Italy
Interests: maritime surveillance; SAR systems; distributed space missions
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Camille Pirat

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
European Space Agency/ESTEC, Keplerlaan 1, 2201 AZ Noordwijk, The Netherlands
Interests: CubeSat technologies; swarms/formation flying/in-space assembly for astronomy and earth observation

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Since the creation of the standard in 1999, CubeSats have represented a valid instrument for engineers and researchers to experiment and implement space missions. With more than 2000 CubeSats launched to date, by more than 80 different countries, they have reached a prominent role in many fields of space exploitation from business to research science and planetary exploration. Contrarily to the so called “traditional” satellites, which with the advancement of technology tend to become smaller and yet more performant, CubeSats from their birth had to deal with the challenges of miniaturization, growing from the 1U form factor (i.e., a 10 × 10 × 10 cm cube), which was widely used in the early times of this standard, to a 3U form factor very common up to a few years ago where nowadays the most used are 6U, 8U, 12U and even 16U. This rapid growth shows the maturity potential which has led CubeSats to evolve from being an instrument for educational purposes, typical of the 1U factor at the early stage of this standard, to more advanced applications that include Earth Science, Astronomy, Telecommunications, Business exploitation and others, capable of de-risking technologies for larger spacecraft or delivering high value data products.

The aim of this special issue is to capture the advances in CubeSat technologies which enable the most advanced applications and science in the field of Earth observation. Hence papers related to CubeSat advances in Earth Observation instrument technology, enabling technologies, new remote sensing techniques, and advances in applications in remote sensing are welcome. Articles may address, but are not limited to, the following topics:

  • Remote sensing technique using CubeSats
  • Earth observation application based on CubeSats mission
  • CubeSat Enabling technologies
  • Advances in Earth observation research mission based on CubeSats

Dr. Massimiliano Pastena
Dr. Marco D’Errico
Dr. Camille Pirat
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Remote Sensing is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • CubeSats
  • enabling technology
  • remote sensing techniques
  • research mission
  • earth observation applications
  • earth observation instrument technology
  • artificial intelligence
  • constellations and swarm of CubeSats
  • miniaturization

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

27 pages, 8257 KiB  
Article
Analysis and Experiments of an Electromagnetic Docking Mechanism for Repeated Docking and Separation of the CubeSats
by Xiaoze Yang, Chenyuan Li, Lili Zhang, Zeming Zhao, Caiting He, Tao Hu, Mingyang Li, Honghao Yue, Yong Zhao, Yuhao Zhang and Yitong Wei
Remote Sens. 2025, 17(8), 1446; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs17081446 - 17 Apr 2025
Viewed by 198
Abstract
With the background of on-orbit repetitive connection and separation of CubeSats, an electromagnetic docking mechanism for repeated docking and separation is proposed. A reusable electromagnetic docking scheme combining lead screw transmission with electromagnets is introduced. The electromagnetic force/torque model and the attitude model [...] Read more.
With the background of on-orbit repetitive connection and separation of CubeSats, an electromagnetic docking mechanism for repeated docking and separation is proposed. A reusable electromagnetic docking scheme combining lead screw transmission with electromagnets is introduced. The electromagnetic force/torque model and the attitude model of the CubeSat are derived based on the relationship between force and magnetic flux density in a magnetic field. The coil layout and the polarity of magnetic poles are optimized and analyzed, four different layout configurations are proposed, and their mechanical characteristics are analyzed. A multi-body dynamics simulation analysis of the entire mechanism is conducted to evaluate the attitude correction capability of the electromagnetic attraction separation unit. A three-degrees-of-freedom capture and separation test of the electromagnetic attraction separation unit is carried out in a microgravity-simulated environment to investigate the characteristics of capture and separation under different position and attitude deviation conditions of the energized solenoids. The designed electromagnetic docking mechanism has an adaptive attitude adjustment and docking range of a 30° cone. It can achieve low-impact, high-tolerance, and reusable docking and separation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in CubeSats for Earth Observation)
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46 pages, 19002 KiB  
Article
3Cat-8 Mission: A 6-Unit CubeSat for Ionospheric Multisensing and Technology Demonstration Test-Bed
by Luis Contreras-Benito, Ksenia Osipova, Jeimmy Nataly Buitrago-Leiva, Guillem Gracia-Sola, Francesco Coppa, Pau Climent-Salazar, Paula Sopena-Coello, Diego Garcín, Juan Ramos-Castro and Adriano Camps
Remote Sens. 2024, 16(22), 4199; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs16224199 - 11 Nov 2024
Viewed by 2408
Abstract
This paper presents the mission analysis of 3Cat-8, a 6-Unit CubeSat mission being developed by the UPC NanoSat Lab for ionospheric research. The primary objective of the mission is to monitor the ionospheric scintillation of the aurora, and to perform several technological [...] Read more.
This paper presents the mission analysis of 3Cat-8, a 6-Unit CubeSat mission being developed by the UPC NanoSat Lab for ionospheric research. The primary objective of the mission is to monitor the ionospheric scintillation of the aurora, and to perform several technological demonstrations. The satellite incorporates several novel systems, including a deployable Fresnel Zone Plate Antenna (FZPA), an integrated PocketQube deployer, a dual-receiver GNSS board for radio occultation and reflectometry experiments, and a polarimetric multi-spectral imager for auroral emission observations. The mission design, the suite of payloads, and the concept of operations are described in detail. This paper discusses the current development status of 3Cat-8, with several subsystems already developed and others in the final design phase. It is expected that the data gathered by 3Cat-8 will contribute to a better understanding of ionospheric effects on radio wave propagation and demonstrate the feasibility of compact remote sensors in a CubeSat platform. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in CubeSats for Earth Observation)
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23 pages, 6144 KiB  
Article
Advancing CubeSats Capabilities: Ground-Based Calibration of Uvsq-Sat NG Satellite’s NIR Spectrometer and Determination of the Extraterrestrial Solar Spectrum
by Mustapha Meftah, Christophe Dufour, David Bolsée, Lionel Van Laeken, Cannelle Clavier, Amal Chandran, Loren Chang, Alain Sarkissian, Patrick Galopeau, Alain Hauchecorne, Pierre-Richard Dahoo, Luc Damé, André-Jean Vieau, Emmanuel Bertran, Pierre Gilbert, Fréderic Ferreira, Jean-Luc Engler, Christophe Montaron, Antoine Mangin, Odile Hembise Fanton d’Andon, Nicolas Caignard, Angèle Minet, Pierre Maso, Nuno Pereira, Étienne Brodu, Slimane Bekki, Catherine Billard and Philippe Keckhutadd Show full author list remove Hide full author list
Remote Sens. 2024, 16(19), 3655; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs16193655 - 30 Sep 2024
Viewed by 1654
Abstract
Uvsq-Sat NG is a French 6U CubeSat (10 × 20 × 30 cm) of the International Satellite Program in Research and Education (INSPIRE) designed primarily for observing greenhouse gases (GHG) such as CO2 and CH4, measuring the Earth’s radiation budget [...] Read more.
Uvsq-Sat NG is a French 6U CubeSat (10 × 20 × 30 cm) of the International Satellite Program in Research and Education (INSPIRE) designed primarily for observing greenhouse gases (GHG) such as CO2 and CH4, measuring the Earth’s radiation budget (ERB), and monitoring solar spectral irradiance (SSI) at the top-of-atmosphere (TOA). It epitomizes an advancement in CubeSat technology, showcasing its enhanced capabilities for comprehensive Earth observation. Scheduled for launch in 2025, the satellite carries a compact and miniaturized near-infrared (NIR) spectrometer capable of performing observations in both nadir and solar directions within the wavelength range of 1100 to 2000 nm, with a spectral resolution of 7 nm and a 0.15° field of view. This study outlines the preflight calibration process of the Uvsq-Sat NG NIR spectrometer (UNIS), with a focus on the spectral response function and the absolute calibration of the instrument. The absolute scale of the UNIS spectrometer was accurately calibrated with a quartz-halogen lamp featuring a coiled-coil tungsten filament, certified by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) as a standard of spectral irradiance. Furthermore, this study details the ground-based measurements of direct SSI through atmospheric NIR windows conducted with the UNIS spectrometer. The measurements were obtained at the Pommier site (45.54°N, 0.83°W) in Charentes–Maritimes (France) on 9 May 2024. The objective of these measurements was to verify the absolute calibration of the UNIS spectrometer conducted in the laboratory and to provide an extraterrestrial solar spectrum using the Langley-plot technique. By extrapolating the data to AirMass Zero (AM0), we obtained high-precision results that show excellent agreement with SOLAR-HRS and TSIS-1 HSRS solar spectra. At 1.6 μm, the SSI was determined to be 238.59 ± 3.39 mW.m−2.nm−1 (k = 2). These results demonstrate the accuracy and reliability of the UNIS spectrometer for both SSI observations and GHG measurements, providing a solid foundation for future orbital data collection and analysis. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in CubeSats for Earth Observation)
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