Accommodation of miniaturised fluorescence microscope in a CubeSat

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Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Sähkötekniikan korkeakoulu | Master's thesis

Date

2024-08-19

Department

Major/Subject

Electrical Power and Energy Engineering

Mcode

ELEC3024

Degree programme

AEE - Master’s Programme in Automation and Electrical Engineering (TS2013)

Language

en

Pages

58 + 6

Series

Abstract

Biological research in space has been gaining momentum over the past couple of decades owing to its contribution to studies related to health threats of space travel on human biology, potential of some micro-organisms in food production, astrobiology and so on. A popular platform for performing such experiments in space are CubeSats. The Mini Fluorescence Microscope (MFM) developed by Aboa Space Research Oy (ASRO) is a compact, light-weight instrument for performing live cell imaging in space. Currently, it has been developed for use on incubator platforms onboard the International Space Station (ISS). CubeSats are another potential platform on which the MFM can be used. However, this demands modifications in the existing MFM architecture because the environmental conditions such as temperature and radiation on CubeSats, differ from the platforms on the ISS. The purpose of this thesis is to develop a modified architecture of the MFM that will make it suitable for use on CubeSats. To achieve this, the thesis focused on identifying gaps in the current system by conducting a literature review of the payload design of all similar experiments conducted so far. After identifying all the additional features required in the MFM, a conceptual design was prepared for each of these. The outcome was a system level architecture of a CubeSat-compatible MFM by combining all the designed subsystems. An updated datasheet was also prepared to provide information about the electrical and physical characteristics of the new system to a targeted customer base of CubeSat developers and researchers.

Description

Supervisor

Praks, Jaan

Thesis advisor

Tiensuu, Kiira

Keywords

fluorescence microscopy, CubeSat, radiation, microgravity, payload, microfluidics

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Citation