Through the Mexican Space Agency (AEM), the Secretariat of Infrastructure, Communications and Transportation (SICT), announced the “Gxiba-1” project. Said project is a Nanosatellite developed by Mexicans and will be launched with the support of the Japanese Space Agency (JAXA).
Through a statement it was reported that the project was developed by students from the Autonomous University of the State of Puebla (UPAEP). Which, according to the director general of the AEM, Salvador Landeros Ayala, was selected by the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) and JAXA.
Also, to achieve the launch of Gxiba-1, UPAEP had to successfully pass the six rounds of the KiboCUBE international contest. The name of the satellite comes from Zapotec and expresses the complicated concept of universe or stars.
The Nanosatellite seeks to monitor and generate data on the activity of the 12 active volcanoes in Mexico. Such as Popocatépetl, La Malinche, Bárcena, Ceboruco, Everman, Nevado de Toluca and Chichonal.
As explained by Eugenio Urrutia Albisua, UPAEP Vice-Rector for Research and General Director of the “Gxiba-1” Project, the project began with the Bachelor’s Degree in Aerospace Engineering. For its part, it will be developed in a process of 18 months and its exact launch will be reported in 2023.
Gixba-1 is the second Nanosatellite developed by UPAEP. In 2019, AztechSat-1 was the first Mexican Nanosatellite on the International Space Station (ISS). Also, NASA recognized it as one of the 20 outstanding projects in the “20 Years of Science of the ISS”.
