Overview:
The CubeSats for Climate Change Monitoring (C3M) project advances a compact, low-power, infrared (IR) spectrometer to support detection and mapping of greenhouse gases, contribute to wildfire mitigation and recovery, and aid characterization of volcanic hazards from a 1U CubeSat platform. Motivated by the impacts of climate change, wildfires, and volcanic actiity in Hawaii, C3M utilizes IR sensing to enable timely detection and characterization of thermal events and gas emissions. This project is funded by NASA EPSCoR.
Payload:
The IR spectrometer employs a patented Fabry-Perot spatial interferometric architecture coupled with uncooled microbolometer imaging arrays that capture spectral data across the mid and longwave IR range (2.5-12 microns). This design eliminates the need for cryogenic cooling while achieving a performance suitable for greenhouse gas detection through the multiplexing (Fellgett) and throughput (Jacquinot) advantages inherent to interferometric systems. The instrument is optimized to detect high-volume point sources of carbon dioxide, methane, and sulfur dioxide. By prioritizing higher spatial resolution over sensitivity, the spectrometer can detect elevated gas concentrations that heavily contribute to global greenhouse gas budgets. The payload’s extremely low volume, mass, and power requirements make it ideal for small satellite deployment.
Bus:
C3M utilizes the Artemis CubeSat Kit, a modular 1U platform designed and built by the Hawaii Space Flight Laboratory. The kit employs commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components and open-source architecture, making it low-cost and widely accessible. Mechanical and electrical modifications to the Artemis CubeSat Kit bus enable seamless spectrometer integration, demonstrating that high-performance infrared spectroscopy can be achieved with the strict size, weight, and power (SWaP) requirements of small satellites.
The compact, low-cost design enables C3M to pursue a coordinated CubeSat constellation for consistent, wide-area monitoring of greenhouse gas concentrations and thermal anomalies. This architecture overcomes the limited spatial coverage and revisit constraints of traditional single-satellite missions, enabling near-continuous observation of dynamic emission sources and rapid environmental changes. Mission operations focus on the Hawaiian Islands and broader Pacific region, supporting identification of emission hotspots, quantification of greenhouse gases, and assessment of climate-related hazards in vulnerable areas.
Opportunities for Student Engagement
The C3M mission team includes five graduate students from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, spanning Mechanical Engineering, Planetary Science, Electrical Engineering, and Computer Science. Students lead payload design, integration, and data analysis in collaboration with the Hawaiʻi Space Flight Laboratory (HSFL) and the Hawaiʻi Institute of Geophysics and Planetology (HIGP).
C3M provides hands-on experience in spacecraft systems and infrared sensing for climate observation. The team hosted undergraduate interns through the Maui Economic Development Board in Summer 2025 and will expand internship opportunities in Summer 2026 to support ongoing mission development and testing.
