A new stargazing satellite that will be used by astronomers to study dynamic processes occurring at distant stars, and the habitability of exoplanets, has been given its launch date.
Private company Blue Skies Space has announced the scheduled launch of its Mauve science satellite for October 2025.
The satellite is due to be launched into low Earth orbit on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket as part of the Transporter-15 rideshare programme.
Mauve satellite and astronomy
Mauve is Blue Skies Space’s first satellite and boasts a 13cm telescope that will be used to gather data on hundreds of stars, observing them in optical light but also ultraviolet wavelengths.
Observations will focus on stars' magnetic activity and powerful eruptions known as flares, much like the solar flares we see erupting from our own Sun.
Mauve's telescope will also gather information on exoplanets – planets orbiting stars beyond our Solar System – and their potential habitability.
Blue Skies Space says researchers are now being asked to sign up for observing time and submit their proposals to suggest where Mauve's telescope should be pointed during its 3-year mission.
Astronomers who've signed up include those from Boston University, the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, Rice University, Vanderbilt University, and Western University.
"The launch of Mauve will help accelerate space science by unlocking greater access to more time-domain, ultraviolet data complementing the larger facilities such as the Hubble Space Telescope," says Prof Giovanna Tinetti, Chief Scientist and Co-founder of Blue Skies Space.
"Mauve will be transformational in helping us understand the flaring behaviour of a population of nearby stars, most of which are even more active than our Sun. By monitoring other stars hosting planets, we will also better understand the behaviour of our own star, the Sun, and its potential impact on Earth."
