Science Missions Using CubeSats

As the role of missions and experiments carried out in outer space becomes more and more essential in our understanding of many earthly problems, such as resource management, environmental problems, and disaster management, as well as space science questions, thanks to their lower cost and faster development process CubeSats can beneﬁt humanity and therefore, young scientists and engineers have been motivated to research and develop new CubeSat missions. Not very long after their inception, CubeSats have evolved to become accepted platforms for scientiﬁc and commercial applications. The last couple of years showed that they are a feasible tool for conducting scientiﬁc experiments, not only in the Earth orbit but also in the interplanetary space. For many countries, a CubeSat mission could prompt the community and young teams around the world to build the national capacity to launch and operate national space missions. This paper presents an overview of the key scientiﬁc and engineering gateways opened up to the younger scientiﬁc community by the advent and adaptation of new technology into CubeSat missions. The role of cooperation and the opportunities for capacity-building and education are also explored. Thus, the present article also aims to provide useful recommendations to scientists, early-career researchers, engineers, students, and anyone who intends to explore the potential and opportunities oﬀered by CubeSats and CubeSats-based missions.


Introduction
Since their inception, CubeSats have enjoyed widespread acceptance in the space science community, currently featuring a growing developer list.In fact, CubeSats can help reduce the costs of technical developments and scientific investigations, therefore lowering the entry-barriers to organizing space missions.As a result, CubeSats' popularity in countries with fewer resources to be devoted to space science has grown exponentially in the past few years, thus adding enormous value to education, researchers' experience, and collaborative relationships.
As of January 2020, over 1200 CubeSats have been launched worldwide, and for some countries, this constituted a considerable milestone, as it sometimes even represented the very first national satellites sent into space.Producing one's own satellites is evidently considered a national achievement and a source of national pride by each country, and coupled with realistic and focused goals, such satellites can efficiently help overcome the difficulties implied by a small research budget and little or no experience in the field of space technology.Small satellites thus represent an ideal opportunity for students, engineers, and scientists in different disciplines, including software development for on-board and ground computers, engineering, and management of sophisticated techni-cal programs, to work together on the agile development and operation of space missions.In fact, as the "build-to-operations" cycle for CubeSats is less than three years, this allows university students to be involved in its development from its inception to the actual operating mission.
In this paper, we will focus on identifying suitable key sciences that can be developed for CubeSats science missions, what are the CubeSats' feasibilities for space development countries, on developing Cube-Sats space education systems to establish cooperative programs not only for the purpose of training, but also in view of the prospective collaboration in scientific or application missions, and on exploring the reports from the training section.
The synergy between communities is the key to advertise and improve CubeSats' capabilities, expanding the nowadays relatively limited but steadily increasing application of these technologies for scientific goals.In particular, we are especially interested in CubeSats that could potentially lead to breakthrough discoveries.
The answers to the questions on how to design a CubeSat, why CubeSats are needed, and what is most important for a space mission can be all summarized in the fact that, according to the specificities of a mission, a personalized manpower capability, mission-related financial resources, as well as a targe-ted organization management strategy is required.When it comes to the rationale behind the launch of a CubeSat, a good and stable team represents an essential factor, together with a sound knowledge of CubeSats' development engineering, the subsystems of CubeSats, as well as of the experiments targeted.Last but not least, it is critical to be familiar with some other important elements of the mission, such as the launcher, frequency allocation, law, import/export regulations.
In this paper, we summarize in four sections the primary takeaways concerning CubeSats, the recommendations of researchers, engineers, and scientists to newcomers in the field, and the relevance of international collaboration for the development of CubeSatsbased missions as well as for an enhanced international equilibrium.Therefore, the present article aims to provide the opportunity to learn more about Cube-Sats' architecture, their development, structure and characteristics, their launching and deployment techniques, design criteria, space engineering, as well as the current status of several countries' advanced studies and missions relying on CubeSats' technology.

An Overview
A close, synergistic, and interdisciplinary collaboration between space scientists, engineers, and the space industry lays the groundwork for CubeSats' studies and missions, tied up by the cross-fertilization and encouragement based on the realization of experiments and the achievement of cost-containment and cycle time-reduction.This way forward will be achieved by exploiting at most the Commercial Off-the-Shelf (COTS) components, currently underperforming in the space environment, but with the potential to provide high-impact and radical transformations in space application.Ambitious CubeSats projects must be based on international collaboration between institutes, national space agencies, as well as private companies.
Sharing the scientific concepts of the mission with the world is the key to creating the perfect environment to achieve great scientific discoveries.
Modularity as well as relatively low costs make CubeSats a great opportunity for institutions interested both in the scientific and engineering goals achievable with these small satellites' technology, an aspect which is already leading to the increase of small satel- from the work on mass reduction rates for spacecrafts is discussed, see "Small satellites for space science -A COSPAR scientific roadmap" [1] and "Will CubeSats introduce a Moore's law to space science missions?" [2].As spacecraft subsystems become smaller, advanced studies may be performed with ever-lighter spacecrafts.This opens up new possibilities in space science missions.With a fixed-mass budget mission designer, it may be possible to aim at a variety of mission approaches.The available mass may be split up into many small identical units and these units may act as a swarm and cover a larger area or volume than a monolithic spacecraft of equivalent mass.Alternatively, a fraction of the mass budget could be reserved for small advanced probes that could extend the baseline or reach of a larger spacecraft.The probes may even be expendable allowing for more daunting missions.In Figure 1 the different mission scenarios using CubeSats are illustrated.A typical argument against small spacecrafts is The study "Will CubeSats Introduce a Moore's Law to Space Missions?" [2]looks at the mass evolution of spacecrafts over time and it refers to the analysis of the capability and mass of similar class missions, used as a figure of merit.In other words, the mass required to obtain a certain performance is calculated for historic missions, but not all mission classes that were studied revealed a mass evolution similar to Moore's law.However, the Earth observation missions operating in the optical band did show a mass reduction tendency similar to Moore's law.The equation below shows the relation.the rotation of these signals [3] .University [6] , have evolved to become accepted platforms for scientific and commercial applications.This  2016 and more than 80% of peer-reviewed papers reporting science on CubeSats were produced from 2010 (see Ref. [7]).This acceleration is fueled by the miniaturization and increased utilization of Commercial Off-the-Shelf (COTS) parts and led to a more or less Moore's law equivalent growth of Ground Sampling Distance (GSD), data rate, and data volume of small satellites between 1990 and 2010 [7] .Over the past 13 years, three CubeSats were successfully developed and launched at TUM.The endeavor started in 2006 with the development of First-MOVE (see Figure 9 on the left).The main goal of First-MOVE, as in many CubeSat programs of that time, was the hands-on education of undergraduate and graduate students and the ambitious design and build of a 1U CubeSat verification platform [8,9] .The First-MOVE was operated successfully during one month after its launch in late 2013.Until then, more than 70 students of different faculties had participated successfully in the project, with numerous educational and programmatic lessons learned [10] .Starting in April 2015, the second CubeSat of TUM, called MOVE-II (see Figure 9 on the right) was developed and launched into space in late 2018 [11] .

Education-driven Projects
Besides hands-on education, a scientific experiment dedicated to novel solar cells is flown on this satellite mission [12] .CubeSats, in discrepancy with their bigger counterparts, can be built, tested, and launched very fast.A clone of MOVE-II, called MOVE-IIb was built and tested within six months, Looking at the results found by the aerospace company for SmallSat missions [14] , a zone with impaired and failed missions, i.e. an area in which complexity is too high with respect to schedule and cost, can be seen in Figure 10.
The last couple of years showed that CubeSats are a feasible tool for conducting scientific experiments, both in the Earth orbit but also in the interplanetary space.The upcoming launch of Artemis-1 will deploy 13 CubeSats [15]

Main Takeaways on CubeSat Technology and CubeSat Missions
The great efficiency resulting from high productivity at lower costs and lower energy-usage ensured by CubeSats (or small satellites) technology is deemed to outperform traditional satellites in these primary aspects.As a matter of fact, even though Cube-Sats were first developed at the university level for educational purposes, they do now represent an advantageous solution also for commercial missions led by space agencies as well as for joint projects across countries.Furthermore, researchers and engineers were also given the chance to inquire about potential collaboration opportunities at the international level based on CubeSats constellation missions.Specifically, scientists were able to acquire more knowledge on the aspects investigated in the following subchapters.

CubeSats Highlights:
Efficiency, Constellation Missions, Deep-space Exploration CubeSats are a convenient, light-weight, sustainable solution for space science missions as their production and launching costs are significantly lower than in traditional satellites.Their reduced dimensions come with several benefits not only in terms of reduced costs, but also in terms of risks and reachability.In fact, while large satellites can only cover a relatively limited portion of space, a constellation of CubeSats can work on a larger area at the same time, thus expanding the potential of space missions.While Earth-bound satellites remain vital for educational and scientific activities, CubeSats and small satellites in general still represent an invaluable asset for deepspace exploration (even though some questions remain on their feasibility for interplanetary missions).
In the last couple of years, it was proven that CubeSats are a feasible tool for conducting scientific experiments, both in Earth orbit but also in interplanetary space.The upcoming launch of Artemis-1 will deploy 13 CubeSats [15] with a broad variety of planned experiments into interplanetary trajectories and many future deep space launches will have re- (ii) choice of Communications Bands (IARU/UIT); (iii) Italy's experience on teaching university students how to use CubeSats shows that it's worth it even if not launched [16,17] ; (iv) engineering overview of fore-

Importance of Interdisciplinary
Research on CubeSats The combination of physics, relativity, and astronomy together with engineering knowledge constitutes a win-win interdisciplinary approach.Physics-based presentations were particularly useful to understand the challenges associated with operating more than one satellite at a time as well as with finding optimal trajectories that would fulfill the mission objectives.Nevertheless, it was clear that without access to small satellite technologies, high-energy or general relativity-based missions would be overly costly and unfeasible.Scientists, especially those who deal with abstract topics such as relativity and astronomy, are more deeply involved in CubeSat missions than expected.Furthermore, also theoretical physicists have expressed deep interest in the CubeSat business and in a similar token, increased attention is dedicated to missions which do not prioritize technology but rather science questions, such as the Korean SNIPE mission.In fact, even though this mission does not adopt revolutionary and state-of-the-art technologies, it puts emphasis on ionospheric and magnetospheric science questions, as it was also the case of some other missions driven by science questions.

Costs and Complexity Relationship
One of the most important lessons learned from university-built CubeSats (and also commercial missions) is the relationship between complexity and cost/ schedule.As stated in the previous section, missions' complexity increases both costs and development time, with a directly proportional relationship in terms of schedule, while it is exponential for costs.Such relationship is a particularly significant for interplanetary missions, as the launch opportunities are rare and thus the demand for more experiments on one specific mission is usually high.

CubeSats' Main Challenges
Among the main challenges faced by developers, researchers, and engineers of CubeSats several factors can be enumerated, such as the lack of standardization in terms of interface, which may complicate the collaboration among different actors, and the need for improvement of CubeSats' structure.Furthermore, the space debris problem should not be neglected, a nowadays small but still rapidly growing problem.However, CubeSats are currently not the main concern in this regard, as only over 1200 CubeSats have been launched into space so far.A solution still needs to be found, and EPFL is working on it through CleanSpace One (see Figure 13).3 Recommendations for Newcomers in CubeSats' Missions

CubeSats for Interdisciplinary,
Multi-layered Collaboration CubeSats provide the largest single standard launch market available at the moment, creating a rapidly developing ecosystem around it.They ensure easy access to a wide range of innovative ideas to any country that enters the field, as CubeSats do not simply represent a standard spacecraft but rather a collaboration, innovation, and education platform.A single CubeSat launch is not necessarily a big breakthrough in space technology, but it prompts the community and young teams around it to build the national capacity to launch and operate national space missions.
CubeSats also constitute a very affordable platform for hands-on learning of space technology and it has so far shown a strong capability to incubate new business ideas.It is also an affordable instrument for developing space science and scientific missions and raise overall awareness about topics related to global technology.
First of all, they can be developed fast and cheap.
As such, CubeSats make space research accessible for universities all around the world and put space research in high gear, leading to amazing possibilities.
Perhaps, future planetary missions could also include one or two student-led CubeSats that would operate independently of the main spacecraft, limiting the cost-related impacts to the primary mission.It is undeniable that the possibility to build one's own spacecraft to make measurements on Mars or a comet or anywhere else in the solar system could energize the next generation of planetary scientists and engineers.(1) To focus on and be creative with the scientific motivations beyond their projects.While building and operating a satellite in space remains a key activity for educational and social purposes, it is true that some interesting scientific experiments could be made "along the way" while developing the necessary protocols and know-how to design and operate a CubeSat.A clear scientific purpose would widen the impact of their corresponding spacecraft project as well as attract the interest of the international community.
( One should learn the whole process that leads to the CubeSat launch to acquire know-how.
(5) To note that redundancy can be the key to a successful CubeSat mission.However, one needs to be careful about the trade-off between complexity and redundancy, as every redundancy introduced makes the system more fault-tolerant, and at the same time it makes it more complex to manage the system.( 6 4 CubeSats-based International Collaboration

Cross-country Cooperation
The beneficial impact of CubeSats-based joint efforts can positively affect the international relations between countries of different kinds, from regions with less financial and technological means and expertise up to nations which stand at the forefront of space science innovation, as well as between eastern and western territorial sovereignties.In regard to lessdeveloped territories, the relevance of global ties depends on multiple factors, as it enables them to learn faster with the help of international experts as well as to share costs and risks.
Cross-border collaboration made it possible for countries such as Thailand, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Mongolia, to make the most out of the crossborder know-how sharing network and, in some cases, it even led to pioneering projects and achievements.This is for example the case of Mongolia, which launched its first Mazaalai satellite into space in 2017 in the framework of the Birds-1 constellation of satellites which involved also Japan, Bangladesh, Ghana, and Nigeria.Therefore, the overall benefits of CubeSats-based international collaboration are as follows.
(1) Improved productivity as know-how and scientific concepts of space missions are shared between different actors striving together toward greater scientific discoveries.
(2) Fewer chances of failure when knowledge and risks are shared, especially for universities or other entities if they have already built multiple CubeSats [18,19] .
(  Given the proven multilateral interest and benefits of international collaboration in CubeSat development and application, many actors are looking forward to foster and enhance this kind of cooperation model to create international space missions and tighten the ties between countries worldwide.

Conclusions
The relevance and importance of CubeSats for the development of space studies, for advanced scienti-fic results, and for the success of space missions, has grown to represent a critical focus in space science studies widely recognized by international scientific communities for multiple reasons.
In the first place, the marked efficiency of Cube-Sats in comparison to traditional satellites lies in its lites developers.Compared to large satellites, small satellites entail low development costs and offer the opportunity to carry out scientific and technological tests over a short period of time (circa three years).Last but not least, in recent years small satellites have also become a tool used to train students and give them a general understanding of satellite systems.For all these reasons and thanks to CubeSats' interdisciplinary potential and varied approaches, we will now explore some CubeSats-based projects from four different points of views: physics, science, engineering, and education.1.1 Physics-oriented Analysis "CubeSats for Science Missions" from a physics point of view: what can we do and when?The answer to the usage of CubeSats for Science Missions from a different perspective, i.e., the one of physics and

Fig. 2
Fig. 2 Optical resolution at 550 nm as function of distance for the Hubble space telescope and a Dove satellite from Planet Labs Inc

Fig. 4 CHESS
Fig. 4 CHESS 3U CubeSat constellation is a constellation of 3U CubeSats developed by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne.Its goal is to study high energy astrophysics with a hard X-ray Compton polarimeter as main payload.Credits: CHESS mission

Fig. 6
Fig. 6 KNACKSAT satellite, an acronym for KMUTNB Academic Challenge of Knowledge Satellite, is a 1U-CubeSat satellite (roughly 1.3 kg) developed by King Mongkut's University of Technology North Bangkok (KMUTNB), Thailand

Fig. 7
Fig. 7 Mazaalai satellite, named after the endangered (and native to Mongolia) Gobi bear, is the first Mongolian satellite launched into outer space on a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) as part of the SpaceX CRS-11 mission in June 2017 Miniaturization of modern electronics and sensor technology has induced large-scale democratization of space access, as satellites can be built and launched with only a fraction of the former multimillion costs.This disruption has brought new opportunities to smaller and developing countries around the world to build national capacities to advance and run their own space assets.Affordable satellites bring also viability to large scale commercial constellation projects and bring new opportunities for education and science.The Foresail satellites for space science by the Finnish Centre of Excellence in Sustainable Science represent a positive example of the development path from the first student-built spacecraft to the booming new space economy and national science satellite programs in Finland.The development took less than ten years and thus, the finnish example exemplifies the most important benefits of current space technology disruption and gives valuable insights to the countries and teams who find themselves on a similar path.The presentation showed the efficacy of well-channeled education to create economic activity and boost science outcomes.The Foresail-1 CubeSat designed in Aalto University, Finland, carries interesting science payloads and technology demonstrators to deorbit the spacecraft [4,5] .The mission objective is to measure radiation belt losses using particle telescope, demonstrate Coulomb Drag Propulsion (CDP) for deorbiting, test an ultra-sensitive magnetometer, and prepare for high radiation missions.The Particle Telescope payload has the requirement to orient its detector with shorter collimator towards the Sun, while the detector with longer collimator serves to scan the environment.The CDP requires spin control for deploying and maintaining the tension of the tether to demonstrate the deorbiting (see Figure 8).Another analysis of the educational advantages of CubeSats was explored by the Technical University of Munich, Germany (TUM), as three main points were put forward.(1) Architectural and engineering -overview of university-built CubeSats.(2) CubeSat deep space exploration -targets and missions.(3) CubeSat deep space exploration -design con-siderations.While the second and third presentations focused on deep space exploration with CubeSats, a goal pursued by more experienced teams and/or national space organizations, the first talk described the main lessons learned during 13 years of Cube-Sat development at the Technical University of Munich (TUM).CubeSats, once invented for educational purposes in 1999 by Bob Twiggs of Stanford University and Jordi Puig-Suari of California Polytechnic trend has recently accelerated and a 2016 report from the space studies board of the US National Academies of Sciences (NAS) found that over 80% of all science focused CubeSats were launched between 2010 and

Fig. 8
Fig. 8 Foresail-1 structure -It is a satellite mission of the Finnish Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Space, and its main payload is the Particle Telescope (PATE), developed by the University of Turku.Picture credits: Aalto University, Finland

Fig. 9
Fig. 9 First-MOVE (left) and MOVE-II (right), both are 1U-CubeSats from Institute of Astronautics (LRT) at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) Fig. 10 Successful, failed and impaired SmallSat missions analyzed by the Aerospace Company[14]

Fig. 11 DUT- 1
Fig. 11 DUT-1 Satellite developed by Dalian University of Technology, Changguang Satellite Technology Co. Ltd., Tsinghua University, Wuhan University, and Xinjiang Institute of Physics and Chemistry.Credits: DUT CubeSats; (v) aoxiang series CubeSats, development and trends; (vi) Aalto University and its vision of a "Finnish Centre of Excellence in Sustainable Space"; (vii) general application of the sequence: CubeSat Development by the integration of tested modules -Development by the integration of tested modules and design/implementation of a subsystem -Development by full custom design; (viii) management of Development Team and the challenge of knowledge management when working with students; (ix) Korean SNIPE, use of IRIDIUM as backup Com-munication and formation flight strategy (see Figure 12).

Fig. 12
Fig. 12 South Korean SNIPE (Small scale magNetospheric and Ionospheric Plasma Experiment) Satellite is a south Korean mission for identifying temporal and spatial variation of small scale plasma structures in the ionosphere and magnetosphere.Credits: KASI Finally, even though the interface standardization is a change required to simplify CubeSats-based collaboration, the standardization of the CubeSat deployer reduced the flexibility left to developers to adjust the shape and volume of a CubeSat.

Fig. 13 CleanSpace
Fig. 13 CleanSpace One satellite is a technology demonstration satellite first developed by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, EPFL).Credits: EPFL These scientists and engineers can get involved in the entire life cycle of the satellite, thereby facilitating and maximizing technology transfer.Secondly, countries afoot the CubeSat industry should consider the community aspect and enable their young CubeSat teams to visit conferences and workshops to develop connections.In order to be successful, the CubeSat developments should always involve a novel element in order to start partnerships with other industry players.A CubeSat is legislatively equal to a large spacecraft and therefore, a single national CubeSat can lead to significant developments in the national legislation as well as in the organization of space activities at a higher level.Last but not least, CubeSats represent a very good option for engineers to work in collaboration with other engineering departments.A CubeSatbased project can involve electronics, communication, mechanics, aerospace, and system engineers, who can all commit to the mission to polish their skills and gear up for big satellites and bigger projects.3.2 Key Lessons for Newcomers in the CubeSats' Industry Newcomers in the CubeSat missions have the opportunity to work on a wide range of missions.Nowadays, researchers are running numerous important projects by means of CubeSat technology, including remote sensing, communication, Earth-imaging, space exploration, inter-sat communication, air traffic management, ship tracking, and there are many other missions which could be carried out by means of CubeSat technology.Therefore, newcomers in CubeSat missions are encouraged as follows.

)
To focus on intersystem tests, i.e. a test program that should evolve around sub-system interactions.A rudimentary standard function test of each sub-system is naturally mandatory before system integration, but letting the sub-systems perform with each other will assure full functionality and at the same time give sub-system developers a deeper understanding of their own system.Although the space environment is different from a lab setting and it is hostile to satellites, the major reasons for CubeSat failures built by new-comers are inter-system failures.(3)To keep the Bearden rule in mind when planning a mission.This does not necessarily imply the reduction or resizing of the scientific outputs and goals of the mission, it rather means to reduce the complexity of experiments and of the satellite itself.This can be deeply enhanced by the already available subsystems or products on the market, also coming from terrestrial applications, which can be reused in CubeSat missions.At the end of the day, CubeSats have to be fast-to-build and relatively cheap, but both characteristics can be aligned with the scientific objectives of the mission, as proven by the successful Lunar Prospector and Mars Pathfinder (and Sojourner) missions of the Faster-Better-Cheaper program.(4) To lay out the concrete mission goals before actually building the CubeSat.It is nowadays easier to enter the field since one can learn from the lessons that other missions have provided.However, the critical issue is the project management and the process of learning about a CubeSat mission.It is necessary to learn from commercial CubeSats and focus only on the payload design to make the first mission a success.

( 4 )
) Countries with fewer resources can advance and learn faster from CubeSats experts.No more need to work from the ground up as lessons learned from past mistakes are shared.(5) Higher contribution for scientific purposes rather than unnecessary technological show-off.(6) Strengthened global ties through scientific collaboration.Given the favorable corollary of international collaboration, CubeSats currently represent a highly attractive point of collaboration for international institutions, universities, space agencies, and in general, for those who are committed to space science studies.Many countries around the globe are still looking for technological and scientific cooperation opportunities, such as the Department of Astronautical Engineering of the University of Turkish Aeronautical Association (Turkey), which is gearing up to work on the High Energy Rapid Modular Ensemble of Satellites mission (HERMES) together with many other international actors.4.2 Current Joint CubeSats-based Projects and Missions Below are some examples of successful international collaboration experiences as well as of commitment to CubeSats-based knowledge-sharing models.(1) Nations such as China, Turkey, and African countries sent their first CubeSats into space in the context of the QB50 international network of Cube-Sats which also involves several European countries * .(2) The mission proposal "Deep Space Observation Forerunner (DSOF)" was recently submitted to the China National Space Administration (CNSA).Co-sponsored by Dalian University of Technology, Tsinghua University, Wuhan University, Xinjiang Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry, Belarusian State University, and Changguang Satellite Co. Ltd., the project is based on two CubeSats, a CubeSat deployer, and four femto (10 −15 ) satellites to target the near-Earth asteroid 2016 HO 3 and the main-band comet 133P.The aim of the DSOF mission is to conduct scientific research, among others, space radiation measurement, asteroid landing, CubeSat visible/hyperspectral image acquisition, and it is one of the candidate proposals of CNSA project whose final selection has not been announced yet.

( 3 )
Thanks to international mutual support, Mongolia launched its first Mazaalai CubeSat into space on 3 June 2017.(4) CONIDA (Peru) continuously participates in several projects worldwide, such as the Student Small Satellite, and it also collaborates with Peruvian universities working on CubeSats.(5) In Pakistan, the Space System Lab (SSL) of the Institute of Space Technology (IST) is fully focused on CubeSats research and hitherto, IST is the only and first institute in Pakistan to have launched its own CubeSats.(6) The SSS-2A Project is part of APSCO Student Small Satellite program and is being jointly developed by Shanghai Jiaotong University (China) and the Institute of Space Technology (Pakistan).(7) The SSS-2B Project is also part of the same program and is being jointly developed by Tubitak-Uzay (Turkey) and GISTDA (Thailand).(8) Aalto University (Finland) has implemented the Erasmus Mundus Space Masters as well as the Masters in Cold Climate Engineering.(9) The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is committed to the national and international transfer of knowledge among universities and space agencies worldwide.(10) Switzerland and EPFL (Switzerland) actively participate in chosen programs of the European Space Agency (ESA).(11) GISTDA (Thailand) has created Space Inspirium, a modern science museum focusing on space technology and the science of the universe and aiming at knowledge sharing.
affordability both in terms of technological development as well as of scientific investigations.Moreover, the financial competitiveness of CubeSats implementation is also paired with the agile and time-saving technological and technical development of this kind of satellites, which can also be employed to complement the tasks carried out by traditional probes.As a general rule, CubeSats positively differentiate themselves from traditional satellites thanks to the following features: (i) affordability; (ii) less timeconsuming in terms of technical development as well as of scientific investigations; (iii) complementary to traditional probes; (iv) overall improved efficiency.Evidence has shown that CubeSats technologysharing entails multiple advantages for all actors involved in the process, from satellite developers to countries with fewer resources, as it decreases the chances of mission failure.Furthermore, great benefits in terms of scientific progress can derive from a technology-oriented cooperation.In fact, given the great complexity of space science-related questions and challenges, global technology collaboration can serve as a springboard for deeper scientific research and as a determinant to achieve competitive scientific outcomes.For these main reasons, CubeSats currently constitute a valid, highly efficient option which allows scientists to fully focus on CubeSats' potential scientific and engineering applications, rather than on their preliminary development and project.As a matter of fact, the technical development of CubeSats bears no secrets as big as the mysteries of science, which, on the other hand, do still need joint efforts to be properly unlocked.In order to do so and thanks to the favorable common ground provided by CubeSats' shareable advantages, international actors of different kinds are prompted to work together, decrease international competition, and get rid of any eventual CubeSats race for the sake of science.As missions and experiments carried out in the outer space are becoming more and more essential to solve many earthly problems, such as resource management, environmental problems, and disaster management, CubeSats can benefit humanity and therefore, young scientists and engineers should be motivated to research and develop new CubeSat missions.

Sat mission was put forward by the Department of Physics at University of Cagliari, Italy. With the first detected Gravitational Waves event (in August 2017, GW170817) from merging neutron stars or merging of a neutron stars with a black hole, related to a short
Sats and a rate of 36 months for Earth observation satellites after the CubeSats have appeared.A much smaller study conducted on beepsats, i.e. satellites that only emits a beacon, showed a mass reduction rate of 55 months.1.2Science-drivenProjectsOne of the approaches adopted to gain access to space science is to answer science questions by means of al-• .The scientific goal of SNIPE is to identify temporal and spatial variations of small-scale plasma structures in ionosphere and magnetosphere.SNIPE consists of four 6U-nanosatellite, i.e., each one made of 10 cm×10 cm ×60 cm cubic units (about 10 kg for each spacecraft),

. It intends to bring together Swiss universities into a collaborative national project for
) To have real science objectives and to pro-