EagleCam A Groundbreaking CubeSat Camera System
About EagleCam
EagleCam is a 1.5U CubeSat camera system designed and built by Embry-Riddle students. In February 2024, EagleCam landed on the moon as part of Intuitive Machines’ IM-1 mission. With this mission, EagleCam accomplished a historic feat and became the first university student-built payload on the lunar surface.
Interdisciplinary in nature, EagleCam included contributions from the aerospace, electrical and mechanical engineering disciplines. The CubeSat was developed in the Space Technologies Laboratory, one of the cutting-edge engineering facilities available at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, and was the culmination of more than two years of hard work and innovation.
Originally designed to take the world’s first third-person selfie of a spacecraft landing on the moon, EagleCam represents Embry-Riddle’s commitment to advancing space technology and humanity’s understanding of the universe. The project has enabled students to gain first-hand experience with space missions and has demonstrated their exceptional ability to adapt, iterate under pressure and persevere.
What does the future hold? The EagleCam team and the Space Technologies Laboratory are hard at work on projects like LLAMAS. Stay tuned for our next launch!
Help Us Reach for the Stars
Project News
- U.S. Senator Recognizes Embry-Riddle Team for Moon Mission
- Embry-Riddle Celebrates Historic Moon Landing
- EagleCam Updates: Public Comments by Intuitive Machines CEO Steve Altemus
- We Have Liftoff! EagleCam Successfully Launches Into Space, Bound for the Moon
- Launch Imminent: SpaceX Mission to the Moon Will Have Embry-Riddle Payload Onboard
Faculty Leadership and Student Participants
Troy Henderson, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Aerospace Engineering
Troy Henderson, Ph.D.
Dr. Henderson holds an M.S. and Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering from Texas A&M. His research interests include spacecraft dynamics and control and space systems. In addition, he has current funded research in optical navigation, including the hazard detection and avoidance system to be used on the Moon landing, along with funded research in image processing for orbit estimation. Dr. Henderson was previously an assistant professor at Virginia Tech and worked in industry where he developed intelligent image sensors for autonomous navigation.
Eduardo Rojas, Ph.D.
Eduardo Rojas, Ph.D.
Dr. Rojas holds M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of South Florida, all in Electrical Engineering; in 2009, 2014 and 2017, respectively. He joined Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in 2017, where he is currently an assistant professor. His research interests are in the area of microwave/mm-wave circuits and antenna applications of additive manufacturing; and wireless sensing for harsh environments. Rojas is the director of Embry-Riddle’s Wireless Devices and Electromagnetics Laboratory (WIDE Lab). He was the recipient of a CAREER Award from The National Science Foundation in 2019; and the Most Promising Engineer Award, Ph.D. Education category, from the Great Minds in Stem (GMiS) organization in 2020. Rojas has more than 40 peer-reviewed publications, and he is a reviewer for the IEEE MTT-S Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques and Proceedings of the IEEE, among other prestigious journals. Rojas has four U.S. patents and is a member of the IEEE MTT-S Technical Committees 4, 26, and 29; and the RTCA SC-236 committee for Standards for Wireless Avionics Intra-Communication System (WAIC) within 4200-4400 MHz.
M. Ilhan Akbas, Ph.D.
M. Ilhan Akbas, Ph.D.
Dr. Akbas holds a Ph.D. in Computer Engineering from the University of Central Florida (UCF). His research interests include connected and autonomous cyber-physical systems, Internet of Things and Modeling & Simulation. He has current funded projects in validation and verification of autonomous vehicles, along with funded research on image processing using drones with onboard edge computing. Dr. Akbas was previously an assistant professor at Florida Polytechnic University, taught graduate courses at the UCF Institute for Simulation and Training and has industry experience in multinational defense industry projects.
EagleCam Student Team
Meet the EagleCam student team! They are studying a variety of disciplines and are from all over the United States and world. Note to members of the press and community outreach groups: students are available for media interviews and scheduled presentations. To reach a student from your area, email eaglecam@erau.edu.
Jana Alaslani
- Academic Major
- B.S. in Aerospace Engineering
- Hometown
- Rabigh, Saudi Arabia
- Team
- Structures, Sensing
Andrew Ankeny
- Academic Major
- B.S. in Aerospace Engineering
- Hometown
- Towson, MD
- Team
- Hardware Integration
Tim Cole
- Academic Major
- B.S. in Aerospace Engineering
- Hometown
- Clifton Park, NY
- Team
- Launcher
William Edwards
- Academic Major
- B.S. in Electrical Engineering
- Hometown
- Bedford, N.H.
- Team
- Software
Ben Dafoe
- Academic Major
- B.S. in Aerospace Engineering
- Hometown
- Oswego, NY
- Team
- Sensing
Mohammed Eleffendi
- Academic Major
- M.S. in Electrical & Computer Engineering
- Hometown
- Aleppo, Syria
- Team
- Software
Christopher Hays
- Academic Major
- M.S. & Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering
- Hometown
- Conway, AR
- Team
- Lead Engineer, Sensing
Dalton Korczyk
- Academic Major
- M.S. in Aerosapce Engineering
- Hometown
- Farmington Hills, MI
- Team
- Structures Lead
Aryslan Malik
- Academic Major
- M.S. in Aerospace Engineering
- Hometown
- Karaganda, Kazakhstan
- Team
- Structures
Hudson Merrick
- Academic Major
- B.S. in Aviation Business Administration
- Hometown
- Alexandria, VA
- Team
- Financial Management
Noemi Miguélez
- Academic Major
- Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering & Computer Science
- Hometown
- Barcelona, Spain
- Team
- Power
Dennis Moreno
- Academic Major
- B.S. in Aerospace Engineering
- Hometown
- Guayaquil, Ecuador
- Team
- Launcher
Emily Nunez
- Academic Major
- B.S. in Software Engineering
- Hometown
- Easton, PA
- Team
- Software
Justin Parkhurst
- Academic Major
- M.S. in Electrical & Computer Engineering
- Hometown
- New Smyrna Beach, FL
- Team
- Power
Harshkumar Patel
- Academic Major
- M.S. in Aerosapce Engineering
- Hometown
- Surat, India
- Team
- Launcher
Kevin Pepin
- Academic Major
- M.S. in Electrical & Computer Engineering
- Hometown
- DeLand, Florida
- Team
- Comms
Daniel Posada
- Academic Major
- Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering
- Hometown
- Medellín, Colombia
- Team
- Lead Engineer, Lead Thermal, Project Management
Grace Robertson
- Academic Major
- B.S. in Aerospace Engineering
- Hometown
- Washington Township, N.J.
- Team
- Structures, Sensors
John Sahr
- Academic Major
- B.S. in Aerospace Engineering
- Hometown
- Shoreline, WA
- Team
- Hardware Integration
Kyle Soukup
- Academic Major
- B.S. in Aerospace Engineering
- Hometown
- Parker, CO
- Team
- Structures
Madhur Tiwari
- Academic Major
- Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering
- Hometown
- Bhopal, India
- Team
- Launcher Lead
Sabrina Yepez
- Academic Major
- B.S. in Electrical Engineering
- Hometown
- Orlando, FL
- Team
- Power
Taylor Yow
- Academic Major
- B.S. in Aerospace Engineering
- Hometown
- Niceville, FL
- Team
- Sensing, Project Management
David Zuehlke
- Academic Major
- Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering
- Hometown
- Millersville, MD
- Team
- Launcher
Learning at Embry-Riddle
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