Principal investigator
Kevin France
Funding
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Collaboration + support
Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP); NASA Astronomy; Space Research Institute of the American Academy of Science in Graz, Austria; Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland; the University of Toulouse, France; the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands; the University of Arizona
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A new miniature satellite designed and built at听 has mighty goals. It鈥檚 the听first CubeSat mission funded by NASA to peer at听one class of exoplanets, marking a major test of听what these听small spacecraft are capable of.
Since its launch in 2021, has been tracking the听volatile physics around 鈥渉ot Jupiters鈥濃�攁 class of听large and extremely hot planets orbiting distant听stars. CUTE is measuring how quickly gases听are escaping from听a minimum of 10 of these听exoplanets using its unique, rectangular听telescope design. The findings may tell scientists听a lot about hot Jupiters and the full range of听planets in the galaxy.
鈥淭he more places we understand atmospheric听escape, the better we understand it as a whole,鈥澨齭aid mission principal investigator Kevin France.
Photo: CU Boulder Astrophysics and Planetary Sciences graduate students and LASP engineer Nicholas DeCicco install CUTE into the LANDSAT-9 secondary payload dispenser at Vandenberg Space Force Base in July 2021.
Photo by听NASA/Parsons Corporation