Researchers have designed a new kind of minute satellite dubbed CubeSat that can be maneuvered in outer space with small ruptures of water vapor. Low-price nano satellites and micro satellites, which are extremely smaller than traditional spacecraft, turned out to be more common. Millions of these small satellites may be rolled out to conduct a range of tasks, from environmental monitoring, disaster response, and military surveillance to Internet services and high-resolution imaging.
“They provide a chance for fresh missions, such as constellation exploration and flying that their bigger corresponding items can’t achieve due to economic problems,” claimed a professor at Purdue University in the U.S., Alina Alexeenko, to the media in an interview. On the other hand, to gain their whole potential, CubeSats need micro-propulsion gadgets to give exact impulse bits of low-thrust for commercial, scientific, and military space uses. The latest micro propulsion network utilizes ultra purified water, scientists claimed to the media.
The latest system, dubbed as FEMTA (Film-Evaporation MEMS Tunable Array) thruster, utilizes capillaries tiny enough to control the microscopic characteristics of water, as the capillaries are almost 10 Micrometers in diameter. In addition to this, the surface tension of the liquid keeps it from coming out, even in the blankness of outer space. Triggering tiny heaters situated near the capillaries ends generates water vapor and offers thrust.
In this fashion, the capillaries turn out to be valves that can be switched off and on by charging the heaters. The tech is analogous to an inkjet printer that utilizes heaters to thrive out drops of ink. “Water is believed to be plentiful on Phobos, the Martian moon, making it probably a big gas station in outer space,” Alexeenko further claimed to the media.
“Water is also an extremely dirt free propellant, lowering the jeopardy of pollution of responsive tools by the flow back from thruster plumes,” he further added to his statement. CubeSats are made up of different units, each having a dimension of 10 Cubic Centimeters. In the study, 4 FEMTA thrusters laden with almost a teaspoon of water were incorporated into a 1-unit CubeSat model and experimented in space.
Watafiti wamebuni aina mpya ya satelaiti ndogo inayoitwa CubeSat ambayo inaweza kuendeshwa katika anga la nje kwa kuvunjika kidogo kwa mvuke wa maji. Satelaiti ndogo na ndogo zenye bei ya chini, ambazo ni ndogo sana kuliko vyombo vya angani vya kawaida, zilithibitika kuwa za kawaida zaidi. Mamilioni ya satelaiti hizi ndogo zinaweza kutolewa kufanya kazi mbalimbali, kutoka ufuatiliaji wa mazingira, majibu ya maafa, na ufuatiliaji wa kijeshi kwa huduma za mtandao na picha za azimio la juu. "Hizi hutoa nafasi ya misheni mpya, kama vile uchunguzi wa nyota na kuruka ambayo vitu vyao vikubwa vinavyolingana haviwezi kufikia kwa sababu ya matatizo ya kiuchumi, " profesa wa Chuo Kikuu cha Purdue nchini Marekani, Alina Alexenko, alisema kwa vyombo vya habari katika mahojiano." Kwa upande mwingine, ili kupata uwezo wao wote, CubeSats zinahitaji vifaa vya micro-propulsion kutoa bits sahihi ya msukumo wa chini kwa matumizi ya kibiashara, kisayansi, na kijeshi ya nafasi. Mtandao wa hivi karibuni wa usafirishaji mdogo hutumia maji yaliyosafishwa sana, wanasayansi walidai kwa vyombo vya habari. Mfumo huu wa hivi karibuni, unaoitwa FEMTA (Film-Evaporation MEMS Tunable Array) unatumia mishipa midogo ya nywele ambayo inaweza kudhibiti vipimo vya maji, kwani mishipa hiyo ina kipenyo cha karibu mita 10 za mraba. Kwa kuongezea, mvutano wa uso wa kioevu huzuia kioevu hicho kisitoke, hata katika nafasi tupu ya angani. Kuamsha vifaa vidogo vya kupasha joto vilivyo karibu na ncha za mishipa ya nywele hutokeza mvuke wa maji na kutoa nguvu ya kusukuma. Kwa njia hiyo, mishipa ya nywele huwa valvu ambazo zinaweza kuzimwa na kuanzishwa kwa kuchaji vifaa vya kupasha joto. Teknolojia hiyo inafanana na printer ya inkjet ambayo hutumia vifaa vya kupasha joto ili kutokeza matone ya wino. "Maji yanaaminika kuwa mengi kwenye Phobos, mwezi wa Mars, na kuifanya iwe kituo kikubwa cha mafuta katika anga ya nje", Alexeenko alidai zaidi kwa vyombo vya habari. "Maji pia ni mafuta ya kusukuma yasiyo na uchafu, kupunguza hatari ya uchafuzi wa zana za kujibu kwa mtiririko wa nyuma kutoka kwa vipepeo vya kusukuma", aliongeza katika taarifa yake. CubeSats ni pamoja na vifaa vya kuunganisha, kila moja ya vipimo vya 10 cm. Katika utafiti huo, injini nne za FEMTA zilizojaa karibu kijiko cha maji ziliingizwa katika mfano wa CubeSat wa kitengo kimoja na kujaribiwa katika nafasi.