UNIMINUTO’s social satellite alliance

The UNIMINUTO Science Park for Social Innovation (PCIS), recently joined forces with the Universidad de los Andes and the Colombian Space Agency (AEC) to launch a “social satellite” project.

The new project aims to create a CubeSat for Colombia, a type of nanosatellite that allows monitoring of air pollution from space, specifically greenhouse gases.

The project was born from an alliance between the UNIMINUTO Science Park for Social Innovation, the University of Los Andes and the Colombian Space Agency (AEC) which unites the private sector, academia and government to develop an aerospace technology and services industry in Colombia. This project seeks to generate a positive impact on pollution levels and the conservation of the environment by monitoring air quality, through the creation of a tiny 10X10X10 cm3 cube nanosatellite.

The CubeSat Social Satellite project is currently in the feasibility phase and while it has inevitably been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, the team is already hard at work developing air quality observations. In the long term, the project is expected to have a major impact not only on urban air pollution but also on public health.

Other applications of satellite technology include in agriculture, where satellite images allow analysis of crop conditions; the study of climate change, as well as for improved connectivity and television signals.  

Eduardo Camargo, an electronic engineer from UNIMINUTO who is part of the project consortium, said: “Satellite technologies can have a major role to play in solving different problems facing Colombia, present and future, and significantly improve the quality of life of Colombians.”

To find out more about UNIMINUTO, please visit http://www.uniminuto.edu/.