Sector: Space weather 

Number of satellites: 1-2

Form factor: 6 U

Solar flares, together with coronal mass ejections, can pose a serious risk to the functioning of both orbiting and ground-based electronic and electrical devices. The CUSP (CUbesat Solar Polarimeter) mission will measure the linear polarization of X-rays generated by solar flares using a Compton diffusion polarimeter in a 500-600 km Sun-synchronous orbit. Such observations will allow for the direct study of charged particle acceleration mechanisms that are correlated to magnetic reconnection phenomena on the Sun. The mission, with its CubeSat orbiting the Earth, will thus contribute both to the study of heliophysics and to complementing Space Weather networks for the prediction of these violent solar phenomena. The ongoing phase-B activities will also set the number of satellites needed to reach the scientific objectives of the mission.

The team proposing and implementing the mission is composed of research institutions, universities, and companies. INAF-IAPS acts as Prime Contractor and is responsible for the realization of the scientific instrument in collaboration with SCAI Connect s.r.l.; IMT s.r.l. is responsible for the realization of the CubeSat platform; the University of Bologna is responsible for the Mission Study; and the University of Tuscia is responsible for the ground station.

Proposing team: INAF-IAPS (Prime), IMT s.r.l., Università di Bologna, SCAI Connect s.r.l., Università degli Studi della Tuscia