BIRDY : BIRDY: an interplanetary CubeSat to collect radiation data on the way to Mars and back

Abstract

International audienceThe studies of the space radiations are facing a lack of observational data. Simultaneous measurements from multiple locations in the solar system are necessary to properly assess the knowledge about the solar wind and the cosmic rays. A specialized CubeSat is a smart and cheap solution to take part in the global effort: a new concept for autonomous space probes will be demonstrated by BIRDY. Moreover the "CubeSat" standard allows numerous students to get involved in the BIRDY team, managed by two major institutions for space science and technology, in France at the Paris Observatory and in Taiwan at the National Cheng Kung University. A prototype shall be ready to fly in Geostationary Transfer Orbit from 2018, before a flight model being sent on a free-return Earth-Mars-Earth trajectory