AEROS MH-1: Scientific 3U nanosatellite platform for Ocean monitoring, a precursor of a future blue ocean constellation
The AEROS MH-1 nanosatellite, portuguese flagship program of the MIT Portugal, mission of the year at 2024 Small Satellite Conference held by the AIAA (American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics), is collecting a comprehensive set of data of the Atlantic Ocean across spatially distributed areas, spectral wavelengths and time. Now, we can better understand the ocean environment and critical variables in the Portuguese economic exclusive zone. While the AEROS MH-1 is just one satellite, it is a demonstration mission serving as a precursor to a future constellation focused on applying state-of-the-art techniques to measure and monitor the ocean. This project was funded by the MIT Portugal Partnership and designed by 12 different companies, institutes and universities. The work was developed with multinational “Atlantic Interactions” and research efforts.
AEROS MH-1 is a 3U CubeSat hosting three payloads that support the mission’s science and communication objectives. AEROS MH-1’ primary payload is a low-power, compact (70.8 x 70.8 x 105 mm3) hyperspectral imager (HSI). It uses a static spectral filter integrated on top of a CMOS detector to achieve 140 VIS/NIR measurement bands from 470 - 900 nm. A RGB imager provides contextual imagery of overlapping ground scenes for the HSI and serve as a viewfinder for HSI tasking. AEROS MH1 also hosts a software defined radio (SDR) that implements receivers for ARGOS and LoRaWan devices. The SDR supports AEROS MH-1’ objective of improving the connectivity between the biologging tagged marine life and the autonomous vehicles with the biological scientists.
Launched in 4th March 2024, AEROS MH-1 has already provided the first images from space. This capability represents another paramount step in observing the Atlantic Ocean, which will allow a detailed analysis of the marine ecosystem and climate patterns. One more stepping stone for the future constellation.
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