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From: United States of America

Location: Tallahassee, US

On Useme since 18 May 2021

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Deimos Space UK seeks partners For Satellite Applications

The Deimos Space uk has one of the most successful space programs in Europe today. The European Space Agency (ESA) has used Deimos as a launch site for many different missions. Many European missions are designed to test various technologies and systems in space. Here's a look at some of those.

The European Space Agency has two launches scheduled for later this year, both of which will utilize Deimos satellites for European research. Deimos Space UK, which is operated by JPL, a Carnegie Institute of Science organization, is to make two fly-byes of the Earth to observe the moon and the sun. If successful, the first of those fly-bys will be at approximately 7:40 am on Monday, using a satellite that offers expertise in satellite data processing, which would allow scientists to examine the moon and find out more about our solar system.

The second planned launch will use a ground segment of the Deimos satellite. JPL is managing the U.S. side of the Deimos-U.K. connection. The science instruments on board the U.S. side of the mission will study the corona discharge and other auroral emissions around UV-blocking sources, while the Japanese space agency will operate the Japanese ground segment. Both segments will transmit back data to Earth. This ground segment is basically a robotic arm that extends out from the Deimos satellite, which is parked in a safe position above the Earth.

The U.K. company also plans a fly-by using a different configuration. It will not use its ground segment to transmit data. Instead, the Japanese company will use its own small satellite that is called the taikonoe. It is the smallest of all its siblings. (The Japanese company also plans to launch a full constellation of two tiny satellites called satsumetsube and satsuma and start gathering data from them as soon as they are launched.)

The U.K. company is not the only space software company in the world with a Deimos-based constellation. In fact, there are many more. Each one uses a different technique in putting together its Deimos-based satellite applications. They have developed their own proprietary technologies based on data from the U.S. Department of Defense's Mapping satellite imagery program. That program allows anyone with an accurate and thorough set of images from space to map anything on Earth, and Deimos is simply the tip of the iceberg. That's why some companies are trying to put together their own private or joint constellation using Deimos, while others are trying to cobble together various Deimos-based space systems from various countries.

One potential solution to the problem of space systems with Deimos and other similar satellites is machine learning. Machine learning refers to the use of computers to recognize and reproduce patterns. One possible application for Deimos-based machine learning lies in machine reading of Deimos signals. There are already some machine learning specialists in Japan working on developing such a system, and the U.K.'s Surrey University has recently announced that it will be teaming up with Japan's university to "develop a new class of machine learning algorithms for Deimos satellites".

If this project comes to fruition, Deimos-based machines could soon translate the data received from space and "re-transmit" it back down to Earth. If successful, this could greatly lessen the workload for operators on earth who would no longer need to be bothered with decoding foreign radio transmissions. In addition to having the potential to reduce operation costs, the system could also translate communications in any languages. If the project is successful, this could have tremendous implications for businesses as they would be able to translate communications from foreign languages to their own. Deimos Space UK sees this as a major step in the direction of machine learning and says "That the U.K. could tap into this market is excellent news for everyone. Machine learning has the ability to significantly reduce the time and cost of communication across many different areas, and Deimos-based equipment will play a huge part in this."

Deimos Space UK is currently seeking partners for the project including U.K. based satellite mapping firm SSA Space & Analysis, Inc. The project is expected to start next year and is expected to start providing satellite data to the Canadian government by the end of 2021. The Canadian government has invested heavily in machine learning through its own satellite applications and is considering the same idea for its own astronauts. The U.S. has invested extensively in machine learning through its Atlas Earth Sciences satellite program and could use Deimos satellite data in order to improve machine learning. Deimos Space UK is looking forward to working with Canadian and U.S. based companies that are working on space applications and also interested in providing data and communications back to the earth.