NASA has greenlit a pioneering mission to launch a mini-satellite, dubbed Landolt, into Earth’s orbit to serve as an “artificial star.” Scheduled for deployment in 2029, this $19.5 million Landolt Space Mission aims to dramatically enhance the precision of astronomical measurements. The CubeSat, named after the renowned astronomer Arlo Landolt, will orbit 22,236 miles above Earth, synchronizing with the planet’s rotation to remain a fixed point in the night sky. While invisible to the naked eye, Landolt will appear as a consistent light source to telescopes, emitting a precise number of photons to allow for exact calibrations.
This technological breakthrough addresses significant limitations faced by astronomers, who currently rely on real stars with unknown light emissions and atmospheric distortions for calibrations. By providing a stable and quantifiable light source, Landolt will enable scientists to measure the brightness of celestial objects with ten times more accuracy than existing methods.
This enhanced capability is expected to refine our understanding of stellar properties, aid in the identification of potentially habitable exoplanets, and improve measurements of the universe’s expansion rate an essential factor in unraveling the mysteries of dark energy.
According to Tyler Richey-Yowell, a postdoctoral researcher at Lowell Observatory, Landolt’s mission is a revolutionary step for astronomy, providing a reliable calibration tool that will benefit various areas of space research. The mission underscores NASA’s commitment to advancing our knowledge of the universe, offering astronomers a new level of precision in their quest to explore the cosmos.