Development of a nanosatellite platform as a precursor of a future constellation in order to take advantage of the scientific and economic synergies of Space/Ocean.

A hugely valuable resource, and one that is in great need of our protection, is the world’s oceans, given that they constitute a crucial part of the terrestrial system, with a major role as a mobilizer of technological, scientific, economic and social development. As Portugal is starting to gain a more established position among nations, we seek the scientific and economic synergies that the New Space may provide in terms of prospecting, monitoring and evaluating the oceans in a sustainable way, aligned with the Atlantic Interactions research agenda and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

The Consortium will develop Portuguese technologies and skills to monitor and evaluate the ocean, by combining national and international knowledge in order to build the AEROS constellation. Managed from Portugal, AEROS is an integrated system of assets and capabilities including different existing, improved and new platforms, operating in the ocean and in space, equipped with state-of-the-art sensors and technologies, all connected by means of a communications network linked to a data collection, processing and dissemination system.

In order to promote national scientific and entrepreneurship ecosystems and stimulate the links among them, AEROS comprises private companies such as Edisoft, SpinWorks and DST; universities, including FCUP, UAlgarve and UAçores; and research and interface institutions as a balance to these two areas, including CEiiA, IBS, IN+ and IPMA. To fast track industrial innovation and development and the internationalization that AEROS can achieve, the national organizations have partnered with researchers from different fields at the MIT.