The European Space Agency launched the first satellite, “Space Red Moon” from the French Space Center of Guyana, weighing one kilogram, and measuring 10 centimeters on each side, and successfully entered orbit by the CERN Research Institute. The largest laboratory in the world for particle physics, in cooperation with the University of Montpellier, France.
The researchers designed the satellite to study the effects of cosmic radiation on electronics, and it is a miniature version of a large radiation monitor.
The satellite was sent to the orbit of the “Van Allen” radiation belt, and the outer belt extends above the Earth from 1,000 to 60,000 km above the Earth’s surface.
“The moon will be scanning an unusual orbit, where radiation levels are at their highest,” explains Markus Bruger, head of the research institute’s experimental area group.
The satellite is a lightweight, low-power tool that’s ideal for risky space missions in the future, according to the researchers.