Receivers in space
Tags transmit data to a receiver in space, which in turn transmit the data back to Earth
From ISS to Cube-Sat
Small satellites are the future of space engineering. They weigh less than 30 kilograms and can also be carried into space by small launch vehicles. Since they can be produced in larger quantities, they are cheaper than conventional satellites, they open up completely new possibilities for science and commercial services. ICARUS is also betting on the new technology: in November 2025, an ICARUS receiver flew into space on board a small satellite, followed by another in 2026, and more planned afterwards. Together, they will form ICARUS 2.0, a constellation designed to deliver more frequent and higher-resolution data faster than ever before.
Until spring 2022, the International Space Station ISS acted as a receiving station for the signals from the ICARUS transmitters. The ISS orbits the Earth at an altitude of around 400 kilometers and thus flies comparatively low. It was therefore well suited for the low transmission power of the ICARUS transmitters. This enabled the researchers to keep the energy consumption of the transmitters low.
From November 2025, ICARUS will use modern, commercially operated small satellites from the Munich-based start-up OroraTech, so-called "CubeSats", instead of the ISS. The modern satellites have the advantage that they are cheap, have been tested many times, can be launched into space quickly and are easy to use. The CubeSats are small satellites that combine between one and 16 cubes ("U") with an edge length of ten centimeters. They can be used to easily operate technical equipment in space. The ICARUS cube on the CubeSat is built by Talos, a Munich-based company that develops satellite-based positioning technology for research, agriculture and logistics.
A smaller, more powerful receiver
A new ICARUS receiver also brings significant improvements for research: it requires less energy than the old system while offering higher performance, it transmits data faster and covers the entire surface of the earth. This means that animals anywhere on Earth can transmit valuable information about their own health and the health of their surroundings. The receiver is housed in a cube with an edge length of ten centimeters and weighs about two kilograms. While the old ICARUS antenna was three meters long and the computer on the ISS was the size of a PC, the new foldable antenna is only twenty centimeters long and the computer the size of a thumb. Compared to its predecessor, the ICARUS receiver consumes only a tenth of the energy, but can read four times more transmitters on the animals at the same time. Researchers can thus download data faster, reprogram transmitters and collect data more efficiently.
Low earth orbit
Like the ISS and many other satellites, the ICARUS-CubeSats will be in a low-Earth orbit. At the comparatively short distance of 500 kilometers, the CubeSat can orbit the Earth several times a day and thus fly over every point on the Earth's surface. In contrast, the ISS does not cover the Arctic and polar regions beyond southern Sweden in the north and the southern tip of Chile in the south. With its orbit, the ICARUS-CubeSat and its receiver system can collect data from animals wherever they are - be it in deserts, on polar ice fields, over oceans or in the air. The ICARUS receiver system in space reads out the data once a day. In this way, scientists regularly receive information about the behavior of animals on Earth.
A second ICARUS receiver has already been built and is scheduled to launch into space aboard a SpaceX mission in 2026. Independently operated by Talos and the Max Planck Society, and funded by the National Geographic Society, this satellite will double the frequency of ICARUS data collection. By mid 2027, a constellation of six ICARUS receivers is expected to be operational, creating an array that guarantees continuous functionality and delivers near real-time information on animal movements. This improved coverage will allow scientists to monitor animals’ well-being with unprecedented accuracy, detect disease outbreaks at their earliest stages, and anticipate ecological shifts that affect both wildlife and humans.