IEEE - Aerospace and Electronic Systems - December 2021 - 44

Peru currently has ten air quality monitoring stations
[11]. However, access to these is expensive, so multiple
districts are limited to information on the importance of
taking care of our health. According to an evaluation
study, during the quarantine phase, a reduction of pollutants
such as ozone, NO2, sulfur dioxide, formaldehyde,
aerosols, carbon monoxide, and methane was recorded,
giving ozone values of around 2.73% for the Andean
region, 5.53% for the coast, and 8.94% for the forest
region, through remote sensing monitoring with the
Sentinel-5 Precursor satellite [12], [13].
Because of this existing problem, the CanSat is
used as a tool to assist in environmental monitoring.
CanSats are satellite simulators that are not placed in
orbit, whose objective is to fulfill a predetermined mission
that may include collecting sensor data and transmitting
them to a ground base station (these may also
be stored) display and subsequent analysis or performing
a controlled return [14]. The designs and configurations
of a CanSat are very varied, but telemetry is its
broadest category. The telemetry missions are based on
collecting and transmitting data in real time [15]
because they depend on the type of mission to be performed.
A mission may consist only of transmitting
data, performing controlled returns, or testing small
deployment mechanisms.
Also, Colin and Jimenez-Lizarraga [16] proposed a
CanSat for climate monitoring in small regions of 4
km2
at altitudes below 1 km. Typically, the meteorological
parameter is carried out using a few instruments
and meteorological stations in this region. The
idea is to have more alternatives to provide more data
to make better decisions.
Commonly the size is close to that of a can; they have
several components within their structure that must be
assembled. Several launching techniques include the use
of a rocket, helium balloon, drone, among others. For the
descent, it should be considered to use a parachute in order
to minimize the physical damage that can be generated
when hitting the ground and prolong the time in order to
extract data properly, which will be helpful in the communication
subsystem that is where the information is transmitted
to the ground station.
The implementation of this CanSat is intended to
monitor the pressure, temperature, and air quality in
real time, obtaining information data available to
anyone for research purposes in the area. It is worth
mentioning that this prototype is not typical in our
country; therefore, putting into practice knowledge in
wireless communication, electronics, and programming
will help develop new space technology research. The
development of this CanSat will also serve as a form
of initializing undergraduate students in space technology
issues.
44
Figure 1.
General flow diagram.
The name selected for the CanSat is INCAnSat for
different reasons. First, it comes from CAnSat for INvestigation.
On the other hand, INCA represents the traditional
Peruvian culture before the Spanish colonization. On the
other hand, INCA stands for Research in Aerospace Sciences
(Spanish acronym).
This article continues as follows. The " Methodology "
section describes the INCAnSat subsystems as well as the
analysis tools used. We end with the " Results " and " Discussion "
sections.
METHODOLOGY
TO develop of the proposed INCAnSat, it is necessary to
consider the general flow diagram shown in Figure 1.
Initiation occurs at INCAnSat power up.
Built-in self-test is responsible for monitoring
that all sensors are working correctly, such as
the BMP180 sensor that records temperature and
pressure, the NEO-6M GPS module provides
INCAnSat location, the MQ-135 sensor detects
CO2 concentration in the environment, and the
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DECEMBER 2021
IEEE - Aerospace and Electronic Systems - December 2021

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