NASA recently phoned home just like E.T. as they used a Samsung Nexus S phone to send back some relevant data to their ground station in Santa Clara University.

According to Latin Times, the PhoneSat 2.4 is a satellite measuring 4 inch square which utilizes the Samsung Nexus S phone and runs under Google Android. However, this is not the very first smartphone that NASA has used into space and beyond.

The very first one was back in April which used electronics made available in the commercial level for low orbit Earth satellites. The mission only lasted for a week after the satellite has burned up upon re-entry to Earth. And now new opportunities are on its way with new generation smartphone used and modified at the Ames Research Center of NASA at Moffett Field, California.

The associate administrator for Washington's space technology, Michael Garazik stated that NASA is working hard to open up new ways of developing science and technology for the new generation of space explorers too to tap and enjoy.

The PhoneSat 2.4 Just Cost NASA An Affordable $7,500 Budget?

The tiny and affordable PhoneSat is made out of Android hardware with Samsung Nexus S that is heavily modified. It weighs just 2.2 pounds and comes with a two-way S-band radio. This means that it can be controlled remotely and with being able to have dialled home straight from orbit, then it's all ready to go, The Verge wrote.

The PhoneSat 2.4 is one of NASA's project to explore on all possible satellite technology that will not cost too much. A part of the press release from NASA stated:

"The smartphone provides many of the functions the satellite needs to operate, such as computation, memory, ready-made interfaces for communications, navigation and power, all assembled in a rugged package before launch."

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The NASA PhoneSat 2.4 was launched a couple of weeks ago and cost the US Space agency just around $7,500. It is to last for a year and will render NASA a clearer picture of how powerful commercial phones can work in space.

NASA has their hopes high to use such satellite phones in sharing and transmitting data from space to Earth. The PhoneSat 2.5 version is set to launch in February 2014 via the SpaceX rocket.