Instituto Mauá será o cérebro brasileiro em missão que vai à lua de Saturno
Equipe brasileira será responsável pela criação de um "gêmeo digital" capaz de antecipar desafios; primeiros dados devem chegar somente em 2050
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Repórter
Publicado em 22 de maio de 2025 às 11h19.
Em um dos cantos mais remotos do sistema solar, uma pequena lua de Saturno chamada Encélado esconde mistérios que o Instituto Mauá de Tecnologia (IMT) ajudará a desvendar. A missão coordenada pela Agência Espacial Europeia (ESA) e o centro aeroespacial alemão DLR terá o IMT como parceiro na criação de simuladores avançados, um “gêmeo digital” capaz de antecipar desafios e garantir soluções técnicas em um projeto que deve entregar os primeiros dados somente em 2050.
O convite para essa missão — prevista para lançamento em 2026 — reforça a trajetória do instituto brasileiro, que desde 2003 participa de missões internacionais como CoRoT e PLATO, ambas focadas em observação de exoplanetas. “Nossa especialidade é criar sistemas capazes de evoluir com o projeto, ajustando tecnologias diante da complexidade e do tempo longo das missões espaciais”, afirma Vanderlei Parro, professor de engenharia elétrica do IMT.
A lua de Saturno Encélado tem cerca de 500 km de diâmetro, mas abriga um oceano subterrâneo sob a superfície congelada. A missão usará a nave para coletar material expelido pelos gêiseres — jatos de vapor d’água e partículas orgânicas — que indicam a possibilidade de vida microbiana.
Brasil no espaço
No âmbito da busca por exoplanetas, o IMT trabalha desde 2010 na missão PLATO da ESA, que pretende identificar planetas rochosos semelhantes à Terra. A instituição foi responsável pela criação dos simuladores das câmeras do satélite, usados para testar e calibrar subsistemas críticos, com previsão de lançamento em 2026.
O pioneirismo brasileiro no projeto CoRoT (2007-2012), liderado pela França, contou com participação do IMT na definição e análise das estrelas observadas, além do desenvolvimento de softwares para calibração dos dados.
No campo da formação e inovação tecnológica, o Instituto Mauá desenvolve projetos nacionais como o CubeSat, um satélite em miniatura que oferece aos alunos experiência prática em sistemas espaciais complexos. Também conduz o HAB-Mauá, um balão de alta altitude que carrega experimentos científicos e astrobiológicos à estratosfera.
Esses projetos educacionais complementam as parcerias estratégicas do IMT, incluindo o desenvolvimento de sistemas de controle orbital em cooperação com o Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (INPE), fortalecendo a cadeia tecnológica nacional.
Viagens futuras
Além de Encélado, o IMT é a única instituição brasileira a participar das missões Veritas e EnVision, ambas para Vênus. Veritas, da Nasa, programada para 2028, vai mapear a superfície do planeta com alta resolução para entender sua evolução divergente da Terra. Já a missão EnVision, coordenada pela ESA em parceria com a Nasa, vai estudar a atmosfera, superfície e interior de Vênus, com lançamento previsto para 2030.
A equipe do instituto, composta por professores, engenheiros e estudantes, desenvolve tecnologias que serão integradas a equipamentos embarcados nessas missões, consolidando a presença brasileira em projetos de ponta da exploração planetária. Um exemplo é a adaptação do simulador SimuCam para uso no conjunto VenSpec da EnVision, um pacote de espectrômetros ópticos.
“A participação nessas missões eleva o Brasil para a vanguarda da ciência planetária e astrobiologia, ao mesmo tempo em que prepara profissionais capazes de responder aos desafios tecnológicos do futuro”, diz Parro.
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![This undated image released by Firefly Aerospace Blue Ghost captures Earth reflecting off the solar panel with the Moon on the horizon. More than fifty years passed between the last Apollo mission and America's return to the lunar surface, when the first ever private lander touched down last February. Now, starting March 2, two more missions are set to follow within a single week -- marking a bold push by NASA and its industry partners to make Moon landings a routine part of space exploration. (Photo by Handout / Firefly Aerospace / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT]( "This undated image released by Firefly Aerospace Blue Ghost captures Earth reflecting off the solar panel with the Moon on the horizon. More than fifty years passed between the last Apollo mission and America's return to the lunar surface, when the first ever private lander touched down last February. Now, starting March 2, two more missions are set to follow within a single week -- marking a bold push by NASA and its industry partners to make Moon landings a routine part of space exploration. (Photo by Handout / Firefly Aerospace / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT")
1/5 This undated image released by Firefly Aerospace Blue Ghost captures Earth reflecting off the solar panel with the Moon on the horizon. More than fifty years passed between the last Apollo mission and America's return to the lunar surface, when the first ever private lander touched down last February. Now, starting March 2, two more missions are set to follow within a single week -- marking a bold push by NASA and its industry partners to make Moon landings a routine part of space exploration. (Photo by Handout / Firefly Aerospace / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / Firefly Aerospace" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS (Firefly Blue Ghost deverá registrar imagens em alta definição de um eclipse total em 14 de março)
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![Solo lunar, em imagens captadas pela sonda Firefly Blue Ghost, em 24 de fevereiro]( "Solo lunar, em imagens captadas pela sonda Firefly Blue Ghost, em 24 de fevereiro")
2/5 Solo lunar, em imagens captadas pela sonda Firefly Blue Ghost, em 24 de fevereiro (Firefly Blue Ghost pousa na Lua)
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![This undated image released by Firefly Aerospace shows Firefly's Blue Ghost lunar lander taking an Earth selfie. More than fifty years passed between the last Apollo mission and America's return to the lunar surface, when the first ever private lander touched down last February. Now, starting March 2, two more missions are set to follow within a single week -- marking a bold push by NASA and its industry partners to make Moon landings a routine part of space exploration. (Photo by Handout / Firefly Aerospace / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT]( "This undated image released by Firefly Aerospace shows Firefly's Blue Ghost lunar lander taking an Earth selfie. More than fifty years passed between the last Apollo mission and America's return to the lunar surface, when the first ever private lander touched down last February. Now, starting March 2, two more missions are set to follow within a single week -- marking a bold push by NASA and its industry partners to make Moon landings a routine part of space exploration. (Photo by Handout / Firefly Aerospace / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT")
3/5 This undated image released by Firefly Aerospace shows Firefly's Blue Ghost lunar lander taking an Earth selfie. More than fifty years passed between the last Apollo mission and America's return to the lunar surface, when the first ever private lander touched down last February. Now, starting March 2, two more missions are set to follow within a single week -- marking a bold push by NASA and its industry partners to make Moon landings a routine part of space exploration. (Photo by Handout / Firefly Aerospace / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / Firefly Aerospace" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS (Imagens da Terra feitas pela Blue Ghost)
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![This handout photograph taken and released by Firefly Aerospace on March 2, 2025, shows the Moon's surface, Earth on the horizon, and Blue Ghost's top deck with its solar panel, X-band antenna (L), and LEXI payload (R) in the view. A US company successfully landed its spacecraft on the Moon on March 2, 2025, making it only the second private lander to achieve this milestone, a live webcast from mission control showed. Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost Mission 1 touched down at 3:34 am US Eastern Time (0834 GMT) near Mons Latreille, a volcanic formation in Mare Crisium on the Moon's northeastern near side. (Photo by Handout / Firefly Aerospace / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT]( "This handout photograph taken and released by Firefly Aerospace on March 2, 2025, shows the Moon's surface, Earth on the horizon, and Blue Ghost's top deck with its solar panel, X-band antenna (L), and LEXI payload (R) in the view. A US company successfully landed its spacecraft on the Moon on March 2, 2025, making it only the second private lander to achieve this milestone, a live webcast from mission control showed. Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost Mission 1 touched down at 3:34 am US Eastern Time (0834 GMT) near Mons Latreille, a volcanic formation in Mare Crisium on the Moon's northeastern near side. (Photo by Handout / Firefly Aerospace / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT")
4/5 This handout photograph taken and released by Firefly Aerospace on March 2, 2025, shows the Moon's surface, Earth on the horizon, and Blue Ghost's top deck with its solar panel, X-band antenna (L), and LEXI payload (R) in the view. A US company successfully landed its spacecraft on the Moon on March 2, 2025, making it only the second private lander to achieve this milestone, a live webcast from mission control showed. Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost Mission 1 touched down at 3:34 am US Eastern Time (0834 GMT) near Mons Latreille, a volcanic formation in Mare Crisium on the Moon's northeastern near side. (Photo by Handout / Firefly Aerospace / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / HANDOUT / Firefly Aerospace" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS (Blue Ghost transporta 10 instrumentos científicos)
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![This image grab from a March 2, 2025 video and released by Firefly Aerospace shows Firefly's Blue Ghost lander during its lunar landing as part of the Ghost Mission 1. A US company successfully landed its spacecraft on the Moon on March 2, 2025, making it only the second private lander to achieve this milestone, a live webcast from mission control showed. Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost Mission 1 touched down at 3:34 am US Eastern Time (0834 GMT) near Mons Latreille, a volcanic formation in Mare Crisium on the Moon's northeastern near side. (Photo by Handout / Firefly Aerospace / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT]( "This image grab from a March 2, 2025 video and released by Firefly Aerospace shows Firefly's Blue Ghost lander during its lunar landing as part of the Ghost Mission 1. A US company successfully landed its spacecraft on the Moon on March 2, 2025, making it only the second private lander to achieve this milestone, a live webcast from mission control showed. Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost Mission 1 touched down at 3:34 am US Eastern Time (0834 GMT) near Mons Latreille, a volcanic formation in Mare Crisium on the Moon's northeastern near side. (Photo by Handout / Firefly Aerospace / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT")
5/5 This image grab from a March 2, 2025 video and released by Firefly Aerospace shows Firefly's Blue Ghost lander during its lunar landing as part of the Ghost Mission 1. A US company successfully landed its spacecraft on the Moon on March 2, 2025, making it only the second private lander to achieve this milestone, a live webcast from mission control showed. Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost Mission 1 touched down at 3:34 am US Eastern Time (0834 GMT) near Mons Latreille, a volcanic formation in Mare Crisium on the Moon's northeastern near side. (Photo by Handout / Firefly Aerospace / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / HANDOUT / Firefly Aerospace" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS (Primeiras imagens do pouso vertical na Lua)
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