Wichita State University has received a nanosatellite that will be used in a NASA solar probe.  The nanosatellite, referred to as a CubeSat, will be launched next year from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Dr. Nickolas Solomey, a professor of mathematics, statistics and physics, said this is the first major spacecraft to be at Wichita State.  It’s being housed in a sterile room at Jabara Hall.

A team of researchers, led by Solomey, has worked on the project since 2021. The CubeSat, built by NanoAvionics of Lithuania, will carry and test a WSU-designed prototype neutrino detector in low Earth orbit to prove the detector can operate in space and measure the rate of cosmic and gamma rays.  

NASA plans to launch a solar probe to investigate neutrinos, which are miniscule subatomic particles that are similar to electrons but have no charge and almost negligible mass. Understanding neutrinos holds the keys to understanding the structure of the universe and the origin of mass. According to the website neutrinos.fnal.gov, neutrinos are the second most abundant fundamental particle in the universe, and the sun is the source of most of these neutrinos. 

Neutrino detectors currently in use are positioned deep below the Earth’s surface.  Dr. Solomey said no one has ever operated a neutrino detector in space, and he said, “This will allow us to look at the sun in a very new way. We can do experiments we can’t do here on Earth with solar neutrinos.” 

Five Wichita State graduate students are working with Solomey on the project: Kyle Messick (doctoral degree in aerospace), Brian Doty (doctoral degree in physics and applied math), Johnathan Folkerts (doctoral degree in physics and applied math), Brooks Hartsock (doctoral degree in physics and applied math) and Tyler Nolan (master’s degree in physics).