Dr. Caitriona Jackman has spent virtually all of her academic career focused on Saturn and, more specifically, on the vast amount of data sent back to Earth by the Cassini-Huygens mission to the ringed planet.

Conceived in the 1980s as a successor to the Voyager and Pioneer spacecraft, Cassini was launched in 1997 and eventually as a dedicated mission to Saturn in 2004 – just after Dr. Jackman, now Associate Professor in Physics and Astronomy at the University of Southampton, began her PhD.

As the Cassini mission reaches its final stages and prepares to plunge into the gaseous cloud surrounding Saturn Dr. Jackman is excited but with a hint of melancholy as the probe ends its 20-year mission.

“I’ve had the immense privilege of working with Cassini data from the very beginning of my PhD which started back in 2003 when the probe was just on its way to Saturn,â€? Dr. Jackman recalls. “My supervisor was part of the magnetometer team - the instruments on the spacecraft that measure the magnetic field, - so I was analysing that data throughout my PhD.

“Saturn is a really beautiful planet; the rings are iconic and everybody can picture what it looks like in the night sky,â€? she continues. “And, as the seasons change and the tilt of the rings change, you get a different view of Saturn every time which is very special.

“Over the years, my research has been to study the magnetic field of Saturn, to study the aurora (the northern and southern lights), so having spent most of my waking hours for the last 13 years thinking about Saturn, it’s going to be quite strange for Cassini to no longer be actively taking data,â€? Dr Jackman admits.

“We went there with certain questions,â€? she explains. “We wanted to chart the magnetic field of the planet, we wanted to examine the moons, we wanted to land on Titan - which we did successfully - but we’ve also had many surprises.

“For example, in charting the moons of Saturn we discovered many more moons and we also discovered that one of the moons – Enceladus - is producing geysers of water vapour from cracks on the surface,â€? she continues. “Such unexpected discoveries can change the course of a mission.

“I think it is important to emphasise that the mission doesn’t end on the 15 September in the sense that the data will be there and will be actively analysed for many, many years to come.â€?

A miniature cube-shaped satellite built by students from the University of Southampton has won the backing of the European Space Agency (ESA) in its bid to improve space debris models.

The UoS3 satellite, the result of a cross-university collaboration including group projects from the Department of Electronics and Computer Science (ECS), is one of just six projects chosen by ESA to receive expert support and access to test facilities as part of its educational Fly Your Satellite!programme.

If the satellite passes these stages it may then be eligible for a launch, making Southampton one of the first UK universities in space. The small satellite, or CubeSat, measuring just 10cm wide, was the only UK university project to win ESA support in the competition.

Students from ECS have contributed to power, controller and communications solutions for the satellite in Group Design Projects (GDP) supervised by Professor Rob Maunder, Professor Steve Gunn and Dr Alex Weddell since 2014, and continue to help the project through membership of the University of Southampton Spaceflight Society

Professor Rob Maunder, who led the GDP on the satellite telecommunications subsystem, says: The backing of the ESA is a fantastic development that recognises the significant progress of UoS3. This satellite is not only a demonstration of technical achievement, but also of successful project management. Its development has drawn upon more than 60 students and staff from various disciplines from across the University, which has required very careful coordination. The many students that have contributed to UoS3 will be rewarded with a great sense of accomplishment when all their efforts are launched into space.

Once launched, the satellite will orbit the Earth at a height of 400km and gather data that will be used to improve re-entry predictions for space objects.

During its year in orbit, students will monitor the satellite health and receive pictures and scientific data through a ground station. The data will be used to improve space debris models, for which the University is a recognised global leader.

Senior research assistant Clemens Rumpf, who started the project with former PhD student Aleksander Lidtke, adds: an amazing achievement and a great honour for the University to be one of just six projects chosen for the ESA Fly Your Satellite! programme. The opportunity to work on a real space mission has been an invaluable one for our students. CubeSat hold a significant potential to facilitate research across the University, and we are just starting to explore the possibilities this project is opening up for us in terms of research and collaboration.