Distributed space-based sensors using optically enabled CubeSats
The Antarctic region is a crucial territory for global climate and sea ice research. From an Australian perspective, this research plays a significant role as changes in sea ice extent around Antarctica are closely linked to Australia’s weather and climate. The lack of sovereign Earth observation within the Australian portion of this territory, curtails near real-time intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities needed for environmental monitoring and maintenance of territorial integrity. This paper details a cost-effective mission concept to enable sovereign monitoring of Antarctic ice caps using distributed VHF sensors on CubeSats networked with inter-satellite optical links.
Authors
- Derek Abbott
- Ed Kruzins (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5171-7384)
- F. W. Menk (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1154-6223)
- Paulo de Souza (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0091-8925)
- Aaron Pereira (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3797-2981)
- Said F. Al-Sarawi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3242-8197)
- Jose E. Velazco (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2719-1671)
Institutions
- Edith Cowan University (AU)
- UNSW Sydney (AU)
- Consejo de Ciencia y Tecnología del Estado de Tabasco (MX)
- The University of Adelaide (AU)
- University of Newcastle Australia (AU)
Publication Details
- Published
- 2025-09-17
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1117/12.3063302
- Primary Topic
- Spacecraft Design and Technology
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00