SAN FRANCISCO,
Calif. (KCBS) -- Stanford researchers
hope to send student-made satellites to the moon by the
year 2010. The “Cube Sats” would be squares about the
size of a tissue box capable of making it to the moon
and back in seven days.
"The thing is to have something small and light
because when you launch something into space you pay for
the weight that it is and the size," Bob Twiggs,
professor of aeronautics and astronautics told KCBS’
Margie Shafer.
There are already three Stanford satellites in low
orbit around the earth, but the Cube Sats will be
designed to do much more.
"You can send something that goes by the moon, does a
gravity swing around the moon, comes back by the earth,
and it takes seven days to do that.”
The satellites would include solar panels and sensors
to measure radiation, magnetic fields and gravity. Both
alumni and students would be involved with the mission,
which Twiggs predicts will spark a new passion in
students to learn about space.
"The thing that's interesting about working with
things in space is it just really, really turns the
students on, and for education, that's what we need,"
said Twiggs.
(RdD) | 
