By Deutsche Welle
Dec 15, 2024, 9:48 PM EST
The Mexican Space Agency (AEM) announced the launch into space in 2025 of another nanosatellitewhich will allow volcanoes to be monitored for the prevention and protection of the population.
The ‘GXIBA-1’ nanosatellite was developed by the Popular Autonomous University of the State of Puebla (UPAEP) in collaboration with the Japanese Space Agency (JAXA), and will be deployed from the International Space Station (ISS) on next year.
The general director of the AEM, Salvador Landeros Ayala, pointed out that This new advance in Mexican satellite technology is the result of the international contest ‘KiboCUBE’, of JAXA and the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA-UN), where only two teams from Latin America have been winners.
For his part, the director of aerospace projects at UPAEP, Eugenio Urrutia Albisua, explained that the satellite mission is part of the Monitoring and Exploration of Active Volcanoes (MEVA) program.
“The MEVA social mission includes developing advanced technologies to monitor changes in volcanic gases such as carbon dioxide and sulfur, especially in Popocatépetl, to support scientists in predicting eruptions and protecting vulnerable communities in Mexico,” said Urrutia.
Artificial intelligence
He noted that sensors and components programmed “by Mexican talent” have been used to collect and analyze this data.
Besides, through artificial intelligence algorithms such as Machine Learning and Deep Learning, We will seek to identify patterns and trends in the behavior of volcanoes.
The name of the satellite ‘GXIBA-1’ corresponds to the Zapotec word that expresses the complex concept of “Universe” or “stars”.
Urrutia indicated that the nanosatellite “has already approved all the security phases of JAXA and ISS and, on a precise date to be defined, Mexico is ready to reach the cosmos again in 2025.”
Likewise, he recalled that in 2019 the APAEP developed with the AEM the first Mexican nanosatellite on the ISS, ‘AztechSat-1’, which was recognized by NASA among the twenty innovative projects in the publication “20 Years of ISS Science.”
In addition to this, last November the AEM announced that, in collaboration with the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), It will launch a new nanosatellite system developed with 100% national technology into space in October 2025.
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