# An Overview of CubeSat Missions and Applications
## 6 CubeSats as Platforms for Chemical and Biological Experimentation in Space
Developed as a collaboration between the University of Bologna, Sapienza University of Rome, and the Italian Space Agency, AstroBio was launched in July 2022 aboard the maiden flight of Vega-C rocket, deployed in a circular orbit at about 5850 km of altitude. The main objective of this mission was to investigate the effects of space radiation on bio-molecules and enzymes, while aiming to validate the use of LOC for chemiluminescence-based bioassays. The payload incorporated a photosensor array to measure the CL emissions, a paper-based microfluidic analytical device (\(\upmu\)Pad), miniature peristaltic pumps for the buffer delivery and a wetness sensor to confirm the fluid delivery to the \(\upmu\)Pad. The payload box was sealed with aluminum for radiation protection and thermally regulated. In order to evaluate the enzymes and bio-molecules' stability, a ground-based control experiment was performed to highlight the effects of radiation. In order to prevent enzyme degradation, pullulan was used, a natural polysaccharide acting as a protecting agent. Through post analysis of the results, it was observed that pullulan significantly helped the stability of the enzymes over a prolonged radiation exposure period. AstroBio successfully demonstrated how compact and automated systems such as LOC can be utilized in CubeSats, making them an excellent platform for scientific research. One of the most recent missions and perhaps one of the greatest milestones in biological experimentation on CubeSats is the BioSentinel mission [241; 242]. It was developed by NASA Ames Research Center, in collaboration with NASA Johnson Space Center and Jet Propulsion Laboratory and it was launched in November 2022, as part of the Artemis I mission. The aim of the 6U BioSentinel CubeSat (see Figure 17a) was to investigate the effects of deep-space radiation on organisms, namely in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, also known as budding yeast. It consisted of two primary instruments, the BioSensor payload, which is a 4U microfluidic system to cultivate and monitor the metabolic responses of the selected yeast cells, and also a Linear Energy Transfer (LET) Spectrometer, which is a  
Figure 16: (**a**) A picture of the _E. coli_ Anti-Microbial Satellite (EcAMSat) CubeSat. Image credit: NASA [239]. (**b**) An illustration of the AstroBio CubeSat. “Reproduced from Meneghin et al., Europlanet Science Congress 2020, EPSC2020-943, 2020, licensed under CC BY 4.0 license” [240]. radiation sensor that measures the radiation environment in terms of particle energy and dosage. An example of the utilized microfluidics cards can be seen in Figure 17b. Equipped with these instruments and using a well-established organism with genetic similarities to human cells, the evaluation of DNA damage from radiation and the repair mechanisms could be compared to the results from LEO (controlled experiment in ISS) and on Earth experiments. As already known, operations beyond LEO pose significant challenges, both engineering and scientific. Galactic cosmic rays and solar particle events introduce unpredictability and risks to living organisms and since BioSentinel lacks Earth's protective magnetic field, it is an ideal platform for studying chronic radiation exposure. Its findings will contribute to developing and establishing protective strategies for prolonged human travel in deep space, aiding in the creation of sustainable habitats on Moon and Mars. Another notable mission is RVSAT-1, India's first microbiological nanosatellite [244], which was developed by undergraduate students from RV College of Engineering under Team Antariksh [245]. Launched on 30 December 2024, aboard ISRO's PSLV-C60 mission, RVSAT-1 is a 2U CubeSat (1.88 kg) designed to study the growth of the gut bacterium. Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron in microgravity. The mission aimed to analyze bacterial behavior and the effects of prebiotics in space, with implications for astronaut health, space medicine, and microbial ecosystem management.