PICASSO (satellite)
| Mission type | Atmospheric science |
|---|---|
| Operator | ESA |
| COSPAR ID | 2020-061K |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft type | 3U CubeSat |
| Manufacturer | Royal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, AAC Clyde Space |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 3 September, 2020 |
| Rocket | Vega |
| Launch site | Guiana Space Centre |
| End of mission | |
| Decay date | 13 April 2024 |
PICASSO (Pico-Satellite for Atmospheric and Space Science Observations) was a CubeSat mission for technology demonstration in atmospheric science, operated in low Earth orbit by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy (BISA) between 2022 and 2024.[1][2] Its goal was to demonstrate measurements of ozone distribution in the stratosphere, temperature profile up to the mesosphere, and electron density in the ionosphere using a low-cost small satellite.[3][4][5][6][7] Its primary instrument was VISION, a hyper-spectral imager for observing the Earth's atmospheric limb during orbital Sun occultation.[8] The other instrument was SLP, a multi-needle Langmuir probe.[8][9][10]
See also
References
- ^ "Technical details for satellite PICASSO-BEL". N2YO.com - Real Time Satellite Tracking and Predictions. Retrieved 2025-10-18.
- ^ "PICASSO (Pico-Satellite for Atmospheric and Space Science Observations) - eoPortal". www.eoportal.org. Archived from the original on 2024-09-17. Retrieved 2025-10-18.
- ^ "PICASSO". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 2025-10-18.
- ^ Kulu, Erik. "PICASSO". Nanosats Database. Retrieved 2025-10-18.
- ^ "PICASSO - Case Study | Bright Ascension". Bright Ascension. Archived from the original on 2024-08-08. Retrieved 2025-10-18.
- ^ "PICASSO CubeSat to sift secrets from sunrise". www.esa.int. Retrieved 2025-10-18.
- ^ "PICASSO". www.esa.int. Retrieved 2025-10-18.
- ^ a b Baker, Noel; Anciaux, Michel; Demoulin, Philippe; Fussen, Didier; Pieroux, Didier; Ranvier, Sylvain (2021). "PICASSO: The Golden CubeSat". EGU General Assembly Conference Abstracts: EGU21–15865. Bibcode:2021EGUGA..2315865B. doi:10.5194/egusphere-egu21-15865.
- ^ Ranvier, Sylvain; Lebreton, Jean-Pierre (2023). "Laboratory measurements of the performances of the Sweeping Langmuir Probe instrument aboard the PICASSO CubeSat". Geoscientific Instrumentation, Methods and Data Systems. 12 (1): 1–13. Bibcode:2023GI.....12....1R. doi:10.5194/gi-12-1-2023. ISSN 2193-0856.
- ^ Ranvier, Sylvain; Anciaux, Michel; Lebreton, Jean-Pierre; Keyser, Johan de (2020). "Validation and characterisation of the Sweeping Langmuir Probe (SLP) instrument for the PICASSO mission". 22nd EGU General Assembly 14126. Bibcode:2020EGUGA..2214126R. doi:10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-14126.