The Argentine microsatellite ATENEA, developed by the University of Buenos Aires (UBA), will participate in NASA's Artemis II mission to return to the Moon after a 54-year hiatus. This opportunity became possible after Argentina met the extremely strict security standards required by the mission, making it one of only four countries selected for the program. The ATENEA project, led by the National Commission for Space Activities (CONAE) in collaboration with various Argentine academic and scientific institutions, will validate critical technologies for future space missions. Once in space, the satellite will measure radiation, evaluate components for space use, collect GPS data, and validate long-range communication links. 'The last time we tried to incorporate one of our satellites into a mission was in the year 2000. We are very excited about this new opportunity,' the project leaders stated. ATENEA will travel inside the Orion Stage Adapter (OSA) and will be deployed about five hours after launch. 'These tasks will elevate the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of key subsystems and enhance their use in more complex future missions,' the team highlighted. Currently, Professor Guillermo Salvatierra and Fernando Filippetti, the head of the ASTAR project and responsible for FIUBA's ATENEA, are at Cape Canaveral for the launch, scheduled between April 1 and 6.
