Autonomous Interplanetary Pharmaceutical CubeSat

为了加强人类在深空的探索和人类的存在，国际空间探索协调小组（ISECG）发布了一份到2040年的深空载人探索全球路线图。根据该路线图，到2020年中期，人类将持续出现在月球附近，到2040年，第一批人类将踏上火星表面，作为殖民的第一步[1]。然而，太空对人类来说是一个充满敌意的环境，但我们对深空环境对人类的影响以及如何减轻这些影响的了解仍然有限。由于行星际旅行将比目前的国际空间站（ISS）载人任务长得多，人类可能需要寿命长的可运输药物和蛋白质。药物目前的问题是，它们会随着时间的推移而降解，这取决于它们所暴露的辐射量和它们所处的空间环境。有各种研究，如国际空间站和可视化太空TXTL Astropharmacies（VITA），致力于更深入地了解太空环境和太空药物的性能。我们对药物在太空中的行为的了解仅基于在低地球轨道上进行的实验。该研究的目的是开发一个完全自主的药物立方体卫星，其行星际轨道将持续运行数年。[1]国际空间探索协调组，《全球探索路线图》，2018年第3卷。

For strong presence in deep space human exploration and human presence, the International Space Exploration Coordination Group (ISECG) published a global roadmap for crewed exploration of deep space until 2040. According to the roadmap, by mid-2020's, humans will be continuously present in lunar vicinity and by 2040 first human beings will step foot on Martian Surface as the first step of colonization [1]. However, space is a hostile environment for humans and yet we still have a limited knowledge about the effects of deep space environment on humans and how we can mitigate these effects. As the interplanetary journey will be significantly longer than current crewed missions to the International Space Station (ISS), humanity may need transportable medicines and proteins with a long lifespan. The current issue with pharmaceuticals is that they degrade over time depending on the amount of radiation they are exposed and the space environment they are at. There are various studies, like ISS and Visualising In-Space TXTL Astropharmaceuticals (VITA) working to get a deeper understanding about the space environment and performance of pharmaceuticals in space. Our knowledge of how pharmaceuticals behave in space is only based on experiments carried out at Low Earth Orbit. The aim of the research is to work on a fully autonomous, pharmaceutical CubeSat with an interplanetary trajectory that will last its operation for several years.[1] International Space Exploration Coordination Group, "The Global Exploration Roadmap," vol. 3,2018.