3UCubed: The Science of Upwelling and Uplifting Undergraduates
ABSTRACT:
Satellites orbiting the Earth travel through the thin outer layers of the atmosphere. During periods of increased solar activity, energy and particles entering the upper atmosphere from the Sun can heat this region and push oxygen and other particles upward. This process, known as thermospheric upwelling, can increase atmospheric density at the altitudes at which satellites orbit. Higher density produces more drag on spacecraft, which can change their orbits, shorten their lifetimes, and make their motion harder to predict.
3UCubed, a small satellite about the size of a loaf of bread, was designed to study this connection between the Sun, the upper atmosphere, and satellite drag. Through NASA’s Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe Student Collaboration, I worked with students from the University of New Hampshire, Sonoma State University, and Howard University under the mentorship of Noé Lugaz, to build 3UCubed. The satellite has instruments to measure the charged particles and oxygen emissions in the upper atmosphere that can be used to understand the drag. This helps scientists better understand how energy from space changes the environment through which our satellites travel.
My work focused on the systems needed to communicate with and operate the satellite. In Fall 2025, our team built a ground station on the roof of Morse Hall with a directional antenna mounted on a motorized pivot so we could track 3UCubed as it passed overhead at a speed of more than 15,000 mph. I spent much of my time writing and testing software that predicts each pass, points the antenna toward the spacecraft, and communicates with it as it moves across the sky. I also worked on the mechanical side of the mission, including building the ground station, as well as instrument calibration before launch.
3UCubed launched in November 2025 on SpaceX’s Transporter-15 mission and entered low-Earth orbit at about 515 kilometers. Since launch, the satellite has remained in space, but the team has had difficulty establishing reliable contact, likely because of an issue with the satellite’s antenna deployment. As a result, routine science data has not yet been collected. Even with that challenge, the project acheived its objectives: undergraduates helped design, build, test, and launch a real spacecraft. For many students, including me, 3UCubed provided valuable hands-on experience with the full life cycle of a space mission, from hardware and software development to the challenges of operations in orbit.
Thanks to Professor Noé Lugaz and research project engineer Sanjeev Mehta for their mentorship on 3UCubed. This work was supported by NASA grant 80NSSC20K1110 as part of the Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP) mission.
Author and Mentor Bios
Eben Quenneville is from Merrimack, New Hampshire, and is a rising senior at the University of New Hampshire studying engineering physics with a focus in aerospace. At UNH, he is a learning assistant for introductory physics classes, a mentor for the Innovation Scholars program, and President of the Society of Physics and Astronomy Students. After graduation, he plans to pursue plasma physics, with a focus on the study of the sun.
Noé Lugaz is a research professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy and in the Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans and Space at the University of New Hampshire and served as the lead of the IMAP Student Collaboration.
Copyright 2026 © Eben Quenneville
