SpaceTuna1
Testing reflective sheets for space-based tuna monitoring.
SpaceTuna1 is a nanosatellite developed by Kindai University to test the properties of reflective materials in space. The project aims to use this technology to monitor tunas as an alternative to the use of tags for biologging. It was launched from Wallops Flight Facility on board a Cygnus spacecraft on 7 November 2022 and later deployed from the International Space Station.
Quick Facts
- Mission type
- Technology demonstration
- Operator
- Kindai University
- Spacecraft type
- CubeSat
- Launched
- 7 November 2022, 10:42:32 UTC
- Launch rocket
- Antares 230+
- Launch site
- MARS, Pad 0A
- Deployment from
- ISS Kibō, Delivered by Cygnus NG-18
- Deployment date
- 2 December 2022
Facts from the source article.
Did You Know?
- The project started in 2016.
- Kindai University is known in Japan for its extensive research on farming bluefin tuna, earning the nickname 'tuna university'.
Mission
Ecological survey of bluefin tuna typically uses tags that record position but are limited by battery life and require recovery for data retrieval. Attaching tags can strain the fish, involving procedures such as laparotomy or wiring to the spine. Kindai University proposes an alternative: a reflective sheet attached to the fish, monitored from space by a satellite with a laser. SpaceTuna1 tests whether such sheets can be observed from 300 km away.
In orbit, the spacecraft is irradiated by a ground-based laser from Japan's National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT). The satellite is covered with a retroreflector sheet, and ground receivers measure the reflected light. Observations over more than a year will track how the sheet deteriorates. The sheet was developed by Kindai University and Nippon Carbide Industries. Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) on one side allow ground telescopes to optically detect the satellite's position.
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