![Swarming The Rings of Saturn With Tiny Probes [NIAC 2026] @frasercain](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/VqBVL2vwh04/maxresdefault.jpg)
Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
π΄ [Interview+] No YT ads. Bonus Part. FREE for everyone
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π£ Guest: Dr. Mike Rubenstein
https://robotics.northwestern.edu/
π Actively Steerable Femtosat Constellations for In-situ Exploration of Saturnβs Rings, Atmosphere, and Magnetosphere
nasa.gov/directorates/stmd/niac/actively-steerable-femtosat-constellations-for-in-situ-exploration-of-saturns-rings-atmosphere-and-magnetosphere
π All 2026 NIAC Selections
nasa.gov/directorates/stmd/niac/niac-studies/niac-2026-selections
Saturn's rings are dense. Sending one flagship probe through them makes no sense. It'll most probably be lost. But sending a swarm of small cheap probes does. Even if a lot of them won't survive, you're still getting lots of data. This is exactly what this NIAC project is proposing.
00:00 Intro
01:22 Observing Saturn's rings
05:21 A swarm of satellites
21:56 Current obsessions
23:36 Final thoughts
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π© CONTACT FRASER
frasercain@gmail.com
βοΈ LICENSE
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
You are free to use my work for any purpose you like, just mention me as the source and link back to this video.
π΄ [Interview+] No YT ads. Bonus Part. FREE for everyone
patreon.com/universetoday/posts/165844581
π£ Guest: Dr. Mike Rubenstein
https://robotics.northwestern.edu/
π Actively Steerable Femtosat Constellations for In-situ Exploration of Saturnβs Rings, Atmosphere, and Magnetosphere
nasa.gov/directorates/stmd/niac/actively-steerable-femtosat-constellations-for-in-situ-exploration-of-saturns-rings-atmosphere-and-magnetosphere
π All 2026 NIAC Selections
nasa.gov/directorates/stmd/niac/niac-studies/niac-2026-selections
Saturn's rings are dense. Sending one flagship probe through them makes no sense. It'll most probably be lost. But sending a swarm of small cheap probes does. Even if a lot of them won't survive, you're still getting lots of data. This is exactly what this NIAC project is proposing.
00:00 Intro
01:22 Observing Saturn's rings
05:21 A swarm of satellites
21:56 Current obsessions
23:36 Final thoughts
π° GUIDE TO SPACE NEWSLETTER
Read by 70,000 people every Friday. Written by Fraser. No ads.
Subscribe for Free: universetoday.com/newsletter
π§ PODCASTS
Universe Today: universetoday.com/podcast
Astronomy Cast: astronomycast.com
π© CONTACT FRASER
frasercain@gmail.com
βοΈ LICENSE
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
You are free to use my work for any purpose you like, just mention me as the source and link back to this video.
![Swarming The Rings of Saturn With Tiny Probes [NIAC 2026]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/VqBVL2vwh04/mqdefault.jpg "Swarming The Rings of Saturn With Tiny Probes [NIAC 2026]
π΄ [Interview+] No YT ads. Bonus Part. FREE for everyone
https://www.patreon.com/universetoday/posts/165844581/
π£ Guest: Dr. Mike Rubenstein
https://robotics.northwestern.edu/
π Actively Steerable Femtosat Constellations for In-situ Exploration of Saturnβs Rings, Atmosphere, and Magnetosphere
https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/stmd/niac/actively-steerable-femtosat-constellations-for-in-situ-exploration-of-saturns-rings-atmosphere-and-magnetosphere/
π All 2026 NIAC Selections
https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/stmd/niac/niac-studies/niac-2026-selections/
Saturns rings are dense. Sending one flagship probe through them makes no sense. Itll most probably be lost. But sending a swarm of small cheap probes does. Even if a lot of them wont survive, youre still getting lots of data. This is exactly what this NIAC project is proposing.
00:00 Intro
01:22 Observing Saturns rings
05:21 A swarm of satellites
21:56 Current obsessions
23:36 Final thoughts
π° GUIDE TO SPACE NEWSLETTER
Read by 70,000 people every Friday. Written by Fraser. No ads.
Subscribe for Free: https://universetoday.com/newsletter
π§ PODCASTS
Universe Today: https://www.universetoday.com/podcast
Astronomy Cast: http://www.astronomycast.com/
π© CONTACT FRASER
frasercain@gmail.com
βοΈ LICENSE
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
You are free to use my work for any purpose you like, just mention me as the source and link back to this video.")
![When Will Rockets Finally Evolve? [Q&A Livestream]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ZrVeOftHHRE/mqdefault.jpg "When Will Rockets Finally Evolve? [Q&A Livestream]
Join Fraser for a live questions and answer session about all things space and astronomy
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π§ PODCASTS
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Astronomy Cast: http://www.astronomycast.com/
π© CONTACT FRASER
frasercain@gmail.com
βοΈ LICENSE
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
You are free to use my work for any purpose you like, just mention me as the source and link back to this video.")
