Insider Brief
- Open Cosmos and the European Space Agency (ESA) have finalized a €35 million contract for NanoMagSat, an innovative mission under ESA’s Scout framework.
- The first satellite is set to launch in late 2027, with the remaining satellites following soon after. Together, the constellation will operate for three years, offering enhanced spatial and temporal coverage.
- The constellation will orbit at 545 km, with two satellites at a 60° inclination and a third in a polar orbit.
Open Cosmos and the European Space Agency (ESA) have finalized a €35 million contract for NanoMagSat, an innovative mission under ESA’s Scout framework. This mission will deploy a constellation of three satellites to monitor Earth’s magnetic field and ionospheric environment with advanced precision, furthering Europe’s leadership in geophysical research from space.
NanoMagSat aims to complement ESA’s Swarm mission by offering continuous and detailed measurements of the Earth’s magnetic field. Understanding the magnetic field is vital for applications such as navigation, geophysical surveys, and studying Earth’s structures. The mission also supports broader scientific efforts in space weather analysis and climate studies by observing rapid planetary magnetic changes and ionospheric plasma dynamics.
The constellation will orbit at 545 km, with two satellites at a 60° inclination and a third in a polar orbit. The first satellite is set to launch in late 2027, with the remaining satellites following soon after. Together, the constellation will operate for three years, offering enhanced spatial and temporal coverage.
Each NanoMagSat satellite will carry specialized instruments including:
- Miniaturized Absolute Magnetometer (MAM) and star cameras for high-accuracy magnetic field measurements.
- High-Frequency Magnetometer (HFM) for detailed vector field data.
- Multi-Needle Langmuir Probe (m-NLP) to analyze ionospheric plasma density and dynamics.
- Dual-frequency GNSS receivers to support ionospheric modeling and radio-occultation studies.
Open Cosmos leads a consortium of European organizations for NanoMagSat. Key contributors include:
- CEA-Léti (France): Developing payload and magnetometers.
- COMET Aerospace (Spain): Supplying deployable booms and optical benches.
- Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris (France): Providing scientific leadership.
- University of Oslo (Norway): Designing Langmuir probes.
- Technical University of Denmark: Developing advanced star trackers.
ESA’s Director of Earth Observation Programs, Simonetta Cheli, highlighted the mission’s significance, emphasizing its blend of innovation and efficiency within the Scout program. Rafel Jorda Siquier, CEO of Open Cosmos, noted that NanoMagSat exemplifies the potential of small satellites to deliver impactful science while fostering collaboration between industry and research institutions.
NanoMagSat represents a critical step toward a long-term space-based magnetic field observation system, reinforcing Europe’s role in advancing Earth observation and scientific exploration.
Image credit: Open Cosmos
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