The World's first space scanning probe microscope concludes its mission
Scientists from MIET, together with engineers from JSC PROTON Plant in Zelenograd, have summarized the results of a unique space experiment. The world's first space scanning probe microscope, the SMM‑2000S, successfully completed its three‑year mission in orbit.
In June 2023, the Nanozond‑1 satellite carrying the SMM‑2000S microscope launched from the Vostochny Cosmodrome. It spent nearly three years at altitudes starting from 460 km studying the effects of the space environment on material surfaces. On April 20, 2026, the satellite successfully completed its mission and deorbited.
"Why does it have to burn up! Couldn't we have designed it so that our microscope, or at least the micro‑objects it collected in space, wouldn't burn up but instead land on Earth for detailed study?". These were the emotions of the scientists as they watched their microscope burn up upon re‑entry after three successful years in orbit.
The emotional impact of the microscope's fiery demise sparked new innovations. The team invented and patented a mini‑shuttle that deploys from a CubeSat‑type satellite and delivers samples to Earth without heating during descent. Another original invention is the "space thermometer" — an autonomous, high‑power "headlight" for CubeSat‑type satellites that flashes in sync with the satellite's temperature. By recording video of the flashes from Earth, one can determine the satellite's temperature by counting the frames between flashes, even if its electronics have failed — for instance, during re‑entry. The flashing also helps amateur radio operators aim their antennas more precisely for reliable data reception. The research team will disclose further developments after securing patents.
Boris Loginov, Head of the MIET Research Laboratory for Atomic Modification and Surface Analysis of Semiconductors, commented: "The data we obtained has led to discoveries of global significance. For the first time in real space conditions, we observed how solar wind ions 'strip' metal from the satellite's surface, generating dust in the process, and simultaneously discovered the reverse process of the healing of damage under the influence of sunlight. We have published these results in the journal ‘Nanoindustriya’, and we are now searching for materials that are most 'survivable' in open space conditions."