We got the news months ago that the Raspberry Pi was traveling into space thanks to the AstroPi project, a great project without a doubt. But it seems that Arduino always has «envy»Of Raspberry Pi although they are different things. Last july 7 NASA sent several projects based on Arduino and Xbee on a space rocket to check and measure various space parameters with this hardware libre.
NASA's idea is to use exbrakes with spacecraft, for this it is necessary to know various parameters of space such as temperature, humidity, pressure, etc ... And of course, to be able to develop a wireless network to connect.
Of course, NASA is not going to apply it directly to the spacecraft and send it into space, so it has decided to make a space flight so that Arduino and Xbee can take that data and NASA can do simulations and tests.
NASA will use Arduino Mega to work in Space
The Arduino board that has been used is the Arduino Mega, a great board that seems to have changed life in many fields, not only in space but also in 3D printing or robotics. In addition, the wireless network that will be created will be with Iridium modules, so if it works, we could be facing a new approach to the space race since it would not only focus on space but also on working in Earth orbit, something that still it is limited to satellites and space stations.
Personally I like this new NASA project for what it offers and for what could be created in space from it although we do not know anything about the designs or the software that Arduino Mega and Xbee will use, something that could be interesting to liberalize the meters and even be able to apply them to other more terrestrial situations.