The Colorado Ultraviolet Transit Experiment (CUTE) from the University of Colorado at Boulder, and Cusp Plasma Imaging Detector (CuPID) from Boston University, are shoebox-sized spacecraft, each measuring approximately 8 inches by 4 inches by 13 inches.
科罗拉多大学博尔德分校的科罗拉多紫外线凌日实验（CUTE）和波士顿大学的尖点等离子体成像探测器（CuPID）是鞋盒大小的航天器，每个尺寸约为8英寸×4英寸×13英寸。
CUTE aims to provide a better understanding of atmospheric loss on all types of planets by measuring atmospheric escape rates from giant exoplanets. Atmospheric escape is the loss of mass from a planet’s atmosphere over time. This phenomenon can affect a planet’s long-term physical properties, including the sizes of extrasolar planets and the habitability of rocky planets.
CUTE旨在通过测量巨型系外行星的大气逃逸率来更好地了解所有类型行星的大气损失。大气逃逸是行星大气层质量随时间推移而损失。这种现象会影响行星的长期物理特性，包括太阳系外行星的大小和岩石行星的可居住性。
CUTE will target 10 to 12 exoplanets during its eight-month science mission, conducting a survey of heavy elements, such as iron and magnesium, escaping from the atmospheres of the most extreme planets in the galaxy.
CUTE将在为期八个月的科学任务中瞄准10至12颗系外行星，对从银河系中最极端行星的大气层中逸出的重元素（如铁和镁）进行调查。
“Measuring atmospheric escape rates allows astronomers and planetary scientists to better understand the physics behind atmospheric loss,” said Dr. Kevin France, associate professor in the Department of Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder and principal investigator of the CUTE mission. “This in turn allows us to better understand the atmospheres of known planets and predict the properties of extrasolar planets we have not yet discovered.”
“测量大气逃逸率使天文学家和行星科学家能够更好地了解大气损失背后的物理学，”科罗拉多大学博尔德分校天体物理和行星科学系副教授，CUTE任务的首席研究员Kevin France博士说。“这反过来又使我们能够更好地了解已知行星的大气层，并预测我们尚未发现的太阳系外行星的性质。
The spacecraft will carry out its mission using a magnifying spectrograph fed by a rectangular Cassegrain telescope. CUTE is sponsored by NASA’s Science Mission Directorate Astrophysics Division.
该航天器将使用由矩形卡塞格林望远镜馈送的放大光谱仪执行其任务。CUTE由NASA科学任务理事会天体物理学部赞助。
CuPID will study how energy from the Sun is deposited into the Earth’s magnetosphere – a protective bubble around our home planet. This mission could solve long-standing questions on space weather and solar wind magnetosphere coupling. CuPID will measure X-rays in space using a novel wide field-of-view telescope to image reconnection signatures in the magnetosphere. Reconnection occurs when the Sun is active enough that its magnetic field fuses with the Earth’s. Using this soft X-ray telescope, CuPID will generate first-of-their-kind images of this phenomenon.
CuPID将研究来自太阳的能量如何沉积到地球的磁层中 - 我们家园周围的保护性气泡。这项任务可以解决长期以来关于空间天气和太阳风磁层耦合的问题。CuPID将使用一种新型宽视场望远镜测量太空中的X射线，以成像磁层中的重联特征。当太阳足够活跃，以至于它的磁场与地球的磁场融合时，就会发生重新连接。使用这种软X射线望远镜，CuPID将产生这种现象的首创图像。
“Launch is scheduled to occur during a lecture of an orbital dynamics course I’m teaching this fall. I plan to have the class online watching. I’m not sure I could think of a better real-world example of the material,” said Dr. Brian Walsh, CuPID’s principal investigator, and professor of Mechanical Engineering and member of the Center for Space Physics at Boston University.
“发射计划发生在我今年秋天教授的轨道动力学课程的讲座中。我计划让课堂在线观看。我不确定我能想到一个更好的现实世界的材料示例，“CuPID的首席研究员，机械工程教授，波士顿大学空间物理中心成员Brian Walsh博士说。