The microsatellite will observe interplanetary magnetic fields and energetic particles in the solar wind.

Exploration Mission 1 (EM-1) is the planned maiden flight of SLS. When launched, it will send an unmanned Orion spacecraft on a trip around the Moon. Besides delivering its primary payload out of Earth;s atmosphere, EM-1 also offers an opportunity for secondary payloads to be delivered to space. NASA decided to select CuSP and 12 other CubeSat project for a piggyback ride on SLS, within the second stage of the rocket from which they will be deployed.

"We are delighted to have secured a ride on NASA's next generation launch system," Mihir Desai, the principal investigator for CuSP at the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) in San Antonio, Texas, told Astrowatch.net.

CuSP, which is being developed by SwRI, is a shoebox-size six-unit CubeSat nanosatellite. When in space, the spacecraft will orbit around the sun in interplanetary space, measuring incoming radiation that can create a wide variety of effects at Earth. The satellite is currently in the design phase.