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IPFS News Link • Space Travel and Exploration

Planetary Resources delivers Arkyd 6 asteroid mining technology demo for launch Dec 2017

• https://www.nextbigfuture.com, brian wang

It was moved like rollon luggage into a regular car and driven to where it will be prepped for launch.

The Arkyd 6 was built in compliance with the 6U CubeSat standard. It includes the core technology that will be used in the company's asteroid exploration program including a mid-wave infrared sensor, second-generation avionics, power systems, communications, and attitude determination and control systems.

The A6 instrument is a broadband imager spanning 3 to 5 microns within the infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum. This region is sensitive to the presence of water – including that in hydrated minerals – and thermal energy, allowing it to be used as a tool to search for water on Earth and beyond. In support of our deep space exploration efforts, A6 is a part of Planetary Resources' research and development work to create an instrument capable of detecting water on near-Earth asteroids.

There are over 16,000 near-Earth asteroids that share a similar orbit to Earth. Asteroids contain the resources that make it possible to fuel and sustain life in space.


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