Future satellites could be microchip size

Scientists in the US are planning to test circuit-board technology mounted on the International Space Station exterior, as a first step towards creating a new generation of satellites that are essentially self-contained microchips.

Research teams from Cornell University in New York and Strathclyde University in the UK are working on the idea of ChipSats, which would measure less than 1cm in diameter and weigh several milligrams.

Proponents argue the technology would have low manufacturing costs, be easily integrated into larger systems and could move through space in a way that larger satellites couldn’t.

They could be used to study planets’ atmospheric conditions, monitor space weather or be dropped onto bodies with no atmosphere to collect data about the surface.

The Cornell team is preparing three printed circuit board devices to be included in the Materials on International Space Station Experiment (MISSE) 8 project, due to be delivered by the penultimate mission of the space shuttle programme in April.