Wow! The world’s first electrosmog map uses the measurements of a Hungarian satellite

SMOG-P is the first Hungarian 1-PocketQube-sized (5x5x5cm) satellite developed at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics (Budapesti Műszaki és Gazdaságtudományi Egyetem in Hungarian, abbreviated BME), within the framework of the SMOG project. The device was launched on December 6, 2019, and it has already recorded 2000 measurements.

The satellite serves a dual purpose. On the one hand, it creates a suitable environment for the operation of its equipment on board and on the other hand,

it continuously measures and analyses electrosmog, the electromagnetic radiation emitted by electronic devices, according to the instructions received from Earth and sends the data back.

The SMOG-P has been in a 350 km high orbit for six months, and it monitors a circular area of 4,000 km diameter. Based on the received signals, the satellite has already recorded 2,000 measurements, András Gschwindt, honorary associate professor of the Department of Broadband Infocommunications and Electromagnetic Theory at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Informatics of BME and the head of the SMOG project told to Hvg.

The Hungarian picosatellite is the world’s first 5 cubic cm-sized, functional space device.

The professor added that, based on the height of the satellite’s orbit, it would expectedly reach a denser atmosphere at the end of September and it would burn.

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“The measurement data from SMOG-P also allowed us to the electrosmog coverage of the Earth. The satellite’s orbit is signal-free over the oceans because there are no signal sources,” said András Gschwindt.

The THREE-DIMENSIONAL, INTERACTIVE MAP is available online.

The faculties and departments of BME have been conducting a number of research and science workshops connected to space exploration for decades. These scientific activities range from basic research and technological developments to the practical implementation of various tools and services and different forms of education and training. BME is one of the major advocates of the Hungarian initiative to introduce space engineer training and in December 2019, the university’s Senate unanimously supported the establishment of a space engineering master programme at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Informatics. The preparations are currently ongoing, and the training is expected to start in the autumn of 2021.