Mini satellites prove their scientific power

摘要

Atiny box orbiting Earth is sending home big data. Built mostly by undergraduate students for less than US$1.5 million, the 10 centimetre × 10 cm × 30 cm satellite, called Firefly, is now beaming back information on terrestrial γ-ray flashes -energetic bursts that are triggered by lightning and fired out into space. Firefly, which launched in November, is the first satellite devoted to studying the flashes, and scientists are eagerly awaiting the results. "I think this will be really amazing" says Therese Moretto Jorgensen, a programme director in the geospace sciences division of the National Science Foundation (NSF) in Arlington, Virginia.