Portuguese 
English 
Spanish 
4 min of reading 
0 comments 
The Mauve Space Telescope Made Its First Measurements in Visible and Ultraviolet Light and Marks the Beginning of a Commercial Fleet That Promises to Extend Observation Time for Astronomers
A private space telescope, the size of a small suitcase, has just recorded its first star and released the first measurements of its mission. The goal is to use this space telescope to monitor nearby stars and help identify targets that may host exoplanets with potential for habitability.
Named Mauve, the satellite was launched in November aboard a Falcon 9 rocket and represents the first step in a planned fleet of small commercial spacecraft. The proposal is to offer observation time to researchers from different countries, with an operation focused on meeting scientific demands more efficiently.
What the Mauve Space Telescope Observed and Why It Matters
On February 9, after months of instrument checks, the Mauve Space Telescope pointed at Eta Ursa Majoris, one of the brightest stars in the Ursa Major constellation.
-
With a cost per shot close to zero, the DragonFire laser could change naval warfare in 2027 and provide British ships with nearly unlimited defense against drones.
-
A British startup creates tires that generate electricity in electric vehicles when passing over potholes, speed bumps, and cracks.
-
Scientists have created robots made with living cells that have their own nervous system, swim on their own, explore the environment, and self-organize without any genetic engineering, and now they want to do the same with human cells.
-
Students create a solar-powered ambulance that operates without a plug, without fuel, and still keeps medical equipment running in remote areas.
The team captured a five-second observation in the visible and ultraviolet bands of the spectrum, and the star is about 104 light-years from Earth.
The choice was not by chance. According to Blue Skies Space CEO Marcell Tessenyi, the mission sought a stable and well-studied star, with high-quality spectrums obtained earlier by other instruments.
This way, the space telescope can compare its results and accurately understand the behavior of the equipment itself.
Why a Commercial Space Telescope Focuses on Ultraviolet Light
The specialty of the Mauve Space Telescope is measuring ultraviolet emissions, a type of valuable observation for monitoring stellar eruptions and high-energy events associated with magnetically dense regions, such as solar flares.
These eruptions can flood the vicinity of the star with energetic particles, which directly influences the environment of nearby planets.
This type of measurement can be done by the Hubble Space Telescope, but it serves multiple fronts and is highly sought after. Additionally, the last mission dedicated to stellar ultraviolet observation, the Ultraviolet Explorer, ran out of fuel in 1996.
In this context, the team argues that a smaller space telescope, made possible by private initiative and supported by advances in satellite technology, can fill specific observation gaps.
How Blue Skies Space Wants to Accelerate Science with Space Telescope
The company behind the Mauve Space Telescope is Blue Skies Space, based in London and spun off from University College London.
The group’s assessment is that astronomy has for too long been concentrated in government-funded agencies and institutions, while other space areas, such as Earth observation and telecommunications, have already been widely dominated by commercial suppliers.
The bet is that a customer-oriented scientific approach can expand access to observation time and help produce data more continuously.
Research institutions from the U.S., Japan, and various European countries have already joined the mission, reinforcing the telescope’s operational model with international participation.
What Comes Next for the Mauve Space Telescope
The mission is set to start providing scientific data soon, following this validation phase with different types of stars to understand the instrument’s performance.
The plan is for the cash flow from the operations of the Mauve Space Telescope to help complete the development of a next mission called Twinkle, described as a 100-kilogram satellite designed to directly observe nearby exoplanets and measure the composition of their atmospheres.
In parallel, the company mentions negotiations with scientific customers to define new study areas that could be addressed by dedicated commercial missions.
There is also joint work with the Italian Space Agency to develop the concept of a constellation of satellites capable of measuring radio waves emitted by cosmic sources from lunar orbit.
Still, Tessenyi believes that commercial astronomy is likely to remain alongside major public missions, such as those that push technology to unprecedented limits.
The difference, he says, is that the commercial space telescope operates more in the field of reuse of existing components, leveraging historical investments in technology and applying these solutions innovatively to increase data supply.
The Mauve Space Telescope was developed and built in three years, a timeline considered fast compared to public missions with long deadlines. The observatory was built by a group of companies from Hungary, the Netherlands, Italy, and Latvia and is expected to remain in Earth’s orbit for at least three years.
Do you think a commercial space telescope can change the pace of scientific discoveries, or will astronomy continue to rely mainly on government missions?
-
-
-
-
-
-
53 pessoas reagiram a isso.