On January 30th at noon, AMSAT ARGENTINA launched the NEMO-1 buoy into the Atlantic sea, callsign LU7AA. It was transported 70 km east of Mar del Plata by the fisherman's ship 'Porteño', from Sandokan.
The buoy, which emits in WSPR mode at 14095.6 KHz and FM VHF in APRS mode, navigated drifting free for 12 days traveling about 1100 kilometers, until on February 11th it was sighted and taken out of the water by the tuna vessel 'Juan Pablo II'.
The captain of the ship, Rinaldi Yaco, considered that the buoy was sailing semi-sunk and decided to rescue it, informing Amsat Argentina of that event.
The NEMO-1 then traveled eight more days aboard the tuna vessel, continuing its mission of data capture and broadcasting, until on Feb-19 it arrived at the port of Mar del Plata, where colleagues from the Mar del Plata Radio Club picked it up and kept in custody.
A group of AMSAT-LU is traveling to recover NEMO-1. The buoy will be reconditioned and a new launch is planned. It will be tried to take it, on this occasion, to more than 200 km offshore, so that it will continue to navigate freely, reaffirming the commitment and contribution of radio amateurs to QRPp propagation research also helping navigation and the community.
AMSAT ARGENTINA especially thanks the Captains and crews of the 'Porteño', the 'Juan Pablo II' ships and the Mar del Plata RClub in the persons of its Secretary, Jose Luis Hermida (LU9DHJ) and Jorge Garelli (LU5EOR) for the help provided and to the more than 100 'travelers' in NEMO-1, who supported this project helping to carry it out. http://amsat.org.ar?f=ce
Adventure photos: http://amsat.org.ar?f=buoy
73, LU7AA, AMSAT Argentina http://amsat.org.ar https://facebook.com/AMSAT.LU