VULCAIN

VULCAIN is an exciting future mission planned by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Italian Space Agency (ASI). This mission will use two small satellites, called CubeSats, to fly together and take pictures of volcanoes and coastal areas from space. These satellites will be special because they can take pictures using both normal light and heat, which helps scientists see things that might be hidden.

The main goal of VULCAIN is to help predict when volcanoes might erupt and understand their effects better. By watching the heat coming from volcanoes from space, scientists hope to find clues before an eruption happens. The two satellites will stay about 300 kilometers apart while orbiting Earth at a height of around 400 kilometers. They will use a special kind of engine called electric propulsion to control their distance.

The VULCAIN mission is being developed with help from the Polytechnic of Milan and support from ESA’s General Support Technology Programme (GSTP). If everything goes as planned, the mission will launch in 2027. This project shows how space technology can help keep people safe by giving scientists better tools to study Earth’s dangerous volcanoes.