The Challenge 

The world population is increasing and bringing challenges with it. One of these challenges is the growing demand for food. This demand will lead to a shortage of farmlands all across the world.. Therefore, there is a need to use farmlands as productively as possible. Farmers need insight into how fertile their land actually is and what factors play a factor in the fertility of their farmland, this way they can use their land as effectively as possible. Another problem is that climate change will affect the fertility of the farmlands, a lot of data needs to be collected all over the world to see the impact of climate change on the fertility of the ground.

The Solution

Aster wants to build a small satellite (cube satellite) that measures the fertility of the ground using infrared reflections. By using infrared light, the fertility of the ground can be measured all over the world. When gathering all this data the impact of climate change can be measured, and farmers get feedback on how to use their lands as efficiently as possible. Since the satellite is small and in low orbit it will burn up in the atmosphere after the mission is done, so it won’t contribute to the increasing problem of space waste.

The Mission

Aster wants to build a satellite to bring the TU/e to space. Using a satellite that measures the fertility of the ground a visual representation can be made of how fertile the ground is. An increase in the number of people on earth will lead to a shortage of farmlands. As a consequence of climate change, the fertility of the ground can change over time. By mapping these changes it becomes visible where these changes are happening and how we can act on them. By putting this in a small satellite we want to show companies and organizations that you don’t need a big and expensive satellite to accomplish your goals and those small entrepreneurs (farmers) can therefore also contribute to fight global warming by using our cube satellite.

This project is being coached by