Media report on research projects aboard NASA spacecraft
WGME reported on Maine’s first CubeSat — a small research spacecraft selected by NASA to fly as an auxiliary payload aboard a rocket. The University of Maine and University of Southern Maine are providing CubeSat design, development, integration and testing. And Saco Middle School, Fryeburg Academy and Falmouth High School are developing payloads for experiments. The youth will access satellite data for scientific discoveries about: the impact of fraction of solar irradiation reflected back into space on temperature; a low-cost remote sensing tool for coastal estuaries; and tracking the development, distribution and dispersion of algal blooms. “And the research tells us if we can get kids involved by middle school, get them really excited and doing something meaningful, that they actually care about, then it can change their whole career pathway,” said University of Maine President Joan Ferrini-Mundy. News Center Maine, the Bangor Daily News, Maine Public and The Bridgton News also reported on the story. Ali Abedi, UMaine professor of electrical and computer engineering and director of the Center for Undergraduate Research, told the BDN, “We offered to kind of lead this effort. The University of Maine will build the satellite, will work with NASA to launch it, and we’ll provide the data to middle schools and high schools.”