Particle.news
Download on the App Store

Argentina’s Atenea CubeSat Ready for NASA’s Artemis II February Launch

The mission will validate homegrown hardware in a high‑radiation, high‑altitude regime to strengthen Argentina’s deep‑space readiness.

Overview

  • Artemis II has a launch window from February 6 through late April for a roughly 10‑day crewed flight around the Moon.
  • Argentina’s 12U Atenea has completed integration, is installed on the SLS payload adapter at Kennedy Space Center, and is awaiting liftoff.
  • The satellite will deploy minutes after launch as a secondary payload near 45,000 km from Earth and is expected to reach about 70,000 km, without traveling to the Moon.
  • Atenea’s objectives include measuring radiation, assessing space‑qualified commercial components, capturing high‑altitude GPS data, and testing long‑range communications.
  • CONAE led development with UNLP, UNSAM, FIUBA, IAR, CNEA and VENG, and Argentine students assisted with final handling at Cape Canaveral and will receive the first telemetry.