Young Innovators Develop India's First Student-Led CubeSat Initiative

At the age of 21, Snehadeep Kumar and Mohit Kumar Nayak are at the forefront of India's burgeoning space exploration efforts as they spearhead the country's first student-led initiative to build CubeSats for the detection of gamma rays from space. The ambitious project, taking shape in their lab in Bhubaneswar, aims to revolutionize space research by significantly reducing costs associated with traditional satellite technology.

Snehadeep Kumar, the youngest Indian ever elected as a fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society, has been captivated by astronomy since childhood. His passion was ignited by Discovery Channel documentaries and a science project involving water purification using drumstick seeds during his school years. This early fascination led him to establish the Aurora Academic Journal in 2021, a platform designed to allow students worldwide to publish original research without the traditional barriers of academic credentials. "If I’m facing this barrier, how many others like me must be going through the same thing?" he reflected.

Snehadeep's collaboration with Mohit Kumar Nayak, a Computer Science student at KIIT University, marked a pivotal moment in the project's evolution. Their shared vision materialized during a chance meeting in their university hostel, where the two began to exchange ideas and ultimately decided to join forces. Today, both are in their final year—Snehadeep pursuing Electrical Engineering and Mohit serving as Managing Director of their initiative.

The duo's CubeSat project promises high-efficiency data collection at a fraction of the cost of traditional satellites. According to Mohit, "The research is done—we’ve completed that phase. We’ve developed a discovery related to gamma-ray burst reduction in CubeSats. The prototype is ready. Now we need to move on to the practical implementation." Despite their progress, the financial demands of developing space technology remain a significant challenge; Mohit noted that space-grade components can cost as much as ₹10 lakh each, while they aim to produce similar parts for only ₹10,000 by leveraging in-house capabilities.

While initial funding has come from family support, the pair are now actively seeking pre-seed investors to scale their project. They are guided by a distinguished advisory board, including Dr. Gerard ’t Hooft, a Dutch theoretical physicist, and Dr. Robert Lefkowitz, a Nobel Laureate in Chemistry. Their efforts are further bolstered by mentorship from Dr. Salazar, a retired NASA lead engineer.

The vision for their initiative extends beyond cubesats; they are also committed to addressing the critical issue of space debris. Mohit emphasized the dangers posed by debris, stating, "A single shard of metal can collide with an active satellite or crewed shuttle and trigger disaster. We try to clean up our terrestrial waste—why not space? It’s the only home we’ve got."

Ultimately, Snehadeep and Mohit aspire to create an ecosystem that empowers aspiring scientists and innovators. "Maybe a university student wants to study space but lacks funding. We want to create that opportunity. We’re not just building a company. We’re building an ecosystem," they declared, embodying a spirit of determination and hope for the future of space exploration in India.