A feasibility project between the UK and Mexico has been launched to bring space technology opportunities to emerging nations.

Led by the UK’s University of Strathclyde, the new Mexico Nanosatellite Missions Laboratory project expects to provide researchers, entrepreneurs and established space companies the vision of gaining scientific insight or securing a new space market over short periods with minimal investment.

The project partners aim to achieve their goal on the experiences of the development of the UK’s first national CubeSat, UKube-1.

Launched in 2013, UKube-1 was developed by Clyde Space with support from Strathclyde.

"This programme is designed to enable the rapid realisation of projects."

Mexico Nanosatellite Missions Laboratory will be performed in collaboration with Clyde Space; Strathclyde-based Satellite Applications Catapult Missions Laboratory; MXSpace and its affiliated companies, and Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahua, Mexico.

The UK part of the project has received a grant from the UK Space Agency, through its International Partnerships Space Programme.

University of Strathclyde Scottish Centre of Excellence in Satellite Applications director Malcolm Macdonald said: "Space technology is a sector offering vast commercial opportunities but typically requires vast expenditure.

"As such, it has largely been dominated by nations, which are prosperous or populous, or both, while in developing nations, space capability and related infrastructure may be less available or accessible.

"This programme is designed to enable the rapid realisation of projects; this will unlock new applications, present opportunities for wider international collaboration, remove barriers to accessing technology and knowledge, and engage with a new generation of engineers, scientists and entrepreneurs."

For the study, Mexican space initiative MXSpace has identified the NANOBED Missions Laboratory concept as a main point for engaging with local technology suppliers, developers and end users.

The NANOBED Missions Laboratory supports future payloads and application development, with facilities at the Satellite Applications Catapult Missions Laboratory and at the Harwell Space Cluster in Didcot, Oxfordshire, UK.

Payload developer and mission application SpaceCloud has been identified for Mexico.

The funding for the study will help the UK-Mexican consortium to develop the NANOBED Missions Laboratory, according to the requirements of the Mexican space industry, led by MXSpace, which will work with Clyde Space to integrate the NANOBED to the laboratory environment at Universidad Autonoma de Chihuahua.

Once developed, the NANOBED Missions Laboratory will be used both for international collaboration with Strathclyde and for a bigger engagement in Mexico.