Mexican space module is tested in NASA mission

PUEBLA - The Ministry of Infrastructure, Communications and Transport (SICT) informed through the Mexican Space Agency (AEM) that the Mexican Experimental Space Module "EMIDSS-4", developed by the National Polytechnic Institute (IPN), successfully passed the tests in NASA's "FY23-FTS" mission.

This announcement took place during the First Mexican Aerospace Forum, an event held at the University of Puebla UPAEP. The forum was attended by leading NASA scientists Aaron Paz and Ryan Ziegler.

Salvador Landeros Ayala, Director General of the AEM, highlighted the success of this Mexican technology test mission, stating that the instruments demonstrated a performance comparable to that of similar NASA developments, which significantly raises the position of our country in this field.

It is worth mentioning that the launch of the experimental module was carried out from the NASA-Fort Sumner base, located in New Mexico, United States. The IPN received an invitation from NASA after passing a rigorous technical evaluation process.

The project leader and researcher at the IPN Aerospace Development Center, Mario Alberto Mendoza Bárcenas, expressed his satisfaction for this achievement, highlighting that it opens new opportunities for collaboration with the AEM and other academic institutions such as the Institute of Applied Sciences and Technology of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), as well as the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Occidente (ITESO).

The positive results acquired will strengthen the design of the instrumentation for the "TEPEU-1" space mission, whose scientific focus is on the study of the Earth's ionosphere in its orbital model. In addition, projects such as "ITESAT-1", currently in the design phase at ITESO, and the creation of a "CubeSat" satellite model with solar panels, which will be manufactured using 3D printing technology, will be promoted.

This success will also result in the development of two in-house designed computers for aerospace vehicles, based on commercial grade microcontrollers. These computers can be used in scientific exploration and technology demonstration satellites.