scholarly journals Daedalus: A Low-Flying Spacecraft for the Exploration of the Lower Thermosphere - Ionosphere

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Theodoros E. Sarris ◽  
Elsayed R. Talaat ◽  
Minna Palmroth ◽  
Iannis Dandouras ◽  
Errico Armandillo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Lower Thermosphere ◽  
European Space Agency ◽  
Upper Atmosphere ◽  
Mission Design ◽  
Earth’S Atmosphere ◽  
Ion Drift ◽  
Space Agency ◽  
Electric And Magnetic Fields ◽  
Precipitation Estimates ◽  
Earth's Atmosphere

Abstract. The Daedalus mission has been proposed to the European Space Agency (ESA) in response to the call for ideas for the Earth Observation programme's 10th Earth Explorer. It was selected in 2018 as one of three candidates for a Phase-0 feasibility study. The goal of the mission is to quantify the key electrodynamic processes that determine the structure and composition of the upper atmosphere, the gateway between the Earth’s atmosphere and space. An innovative preliminary mission design allows Daedalus to access electrodynamics processes down to altitudes of 150 km and below. Daedalus will perform in-situ measurements of plasma density and temperature, ion drift, neutral density and wind, ion and neutral composition, electric and magnetic fields and precipitating particles. These measurements will unambiguously quantify the amount of energy deposited in the upper atmosphere during active and quiet geomagnetic times via Joule heating and energetic particle precipitation, estimates of which currently vary by orders of magnitude between models. An innovation of the Daedalus preliminary mission concept is that it includes the release of sub-satellites at low altitudes: combined with the main spacecraft, these sub-satellites will provide multi-point measurements throughout the Lower Thermosphere-Ionosphere region, down to altitudes below 120 km, in the heart of the most under-explored region in the Earth's atmosphere. This paper describes Daedalus as originally proposed to ESA.

scholarly journals Daedalus: a low-flying spacecraft for in situ exploration of the lower thermosphere–ionosphere

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 153-191 ◽  
Author(s):  
Theodoros E. Sarris ◽  
Elsayed R. Talaat ◽  
Minna Palmroth ◽  
Iannis Dandouras ◽  
Errico Armandillo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Lower Thermosphere ◽  
European Space Agency ◽  
Upper Atmosphere ◽  
Mission Design ◽  
Earth’S Atmosphere ◽  
Space Agency ◽  
Observation Methods ◽  
Precipitation Estimates ◽  
Earth's Atmosphere

Abstract. The Daedalus mission has been proposed to the European Space Agency (ESA) in response to the call for ideas for the Earth Observation program's 10th Earth Explorer. It was selected in 2018 as one of three candidates for a phase-0 feasibility study. The goal of the mission is to quantify the key electrodynamic processes that determine the structure and composition of the upper atmosphere, the gateway between the Earth's atmosphere and space. An innovative preliminary mission design allows Daedalus to access electrodynamics processes down to altitudes of 150 km and below. Daedalus will perform in situ measurements of plasma density and temperature, ion drift, neutral density and wind, ion and neutral composition, electric and magnetic fields, and precipitating particles. These measurements will unambiguously quantify the amount of energy deposited in the upper atmosphere during active and quiet geomagnetic times via Joule heating and energetic particle precipitation, estimates of which currently vary by orders of magnitude between models and observation methods. An innovation of the Daedalus preliminary mission concept is that it includes the release of subsatellites at low altitudes: combined with the main spacecraft, these subsatellites will provide multipoint measurements throughout the lower thermosphere–ionosphere (LTI) region, down to altitudes below 120 km, in the heart of the most under-explored region in the Earth's atmosphere. This paper describes Daedalus as originally proposed to the ESA.

Daedalus: a Candidate ESA Earth Explorer Mission for the Exploration of the Lower Thermosphere-Ionosphere

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Theodoros Sarris ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Lower Thermosphere ◽  
European Space Agency ◽  
Mission Design ◽  
Ion Drift ◽  
Space Agency ◽  
Explorer Mission ◽  
Phase 0 ◽  
Electric And Magnetic Fields ◽  
The Status ◽  
Precipitation Estimates

<p>The Daedalus mission has been proposed to the European Space Agency (ESA) in response to the call for ideas for the Earth Observation programme’s Earth Explorers. It was selected in 2018 as one of three candidates for Earth Explorer 10, and is currently undergoing a Phase-0 Science and Requirements Consolidation Study. The goal of the mission is to quantify the key electrodynamic processes that determine the structure and composition of the Lower Thermosphere-Ionosphere (LTI), focusing in particular on processes related to ion-neutral coupling. Daedalus will perform in-situ measurements of plasma density and temperature, ion drift, neutral density and wind, ion and neutral composition, electric and magnetic fields and precipitating particles. An innovative preliminary mission design allows Daedalus to perform these measurements down to altitudes of 140 km and below. These measurements will quantify the amount of energy locally deposited in the upper atmosphere via Joule heating and energetic particle precipitation, estimates of which currently vary by orders of magnitude between models. At the same time, the instrumentation of Daedalus will enable exploration of the variability and dynamics of the LTI, as well as science questions related to connections between the LTI and the atmosphere below. Daedalus will thus study the most under-explored region of the Earth's environment, the "agnostophere", which is the gateway between Earth’s atmosphere and space. In this presentation an overview of the Daedalus Mission Concept will be given, including the status of the ongoing Phase-0 Study.</p>

scholarly journals ESA’s Gaia mission: a billion stars with a billion pixels

Photoniques ◽  
2019 ◽  
pp. 38-43
Author(s):  
Jos De Bruijne ◽  
Matthias Erdmann
Keyword(s):  
European Space Agency ◽  
Earth’S Atmosphere ◽  
Space Agency ◽  
Hipparcos Catalogue ◽  
Celestial Bodies ◽  
Earth's Atmosphere ◽  
Astrometric Data

Astrometry is the astronomical discipline of measuring the positions, and changes therein, of celestial bodies. Accurate astrometry from the ground is limited by the blurring effects induced by the Earth’s atmosphere. Since decades, Europe has been at the forefront of making astrometric measurements from space. The European Space Agency (ESA) launched the first satellite dedicated to astrometry, named Hipparcos, in 1989, culminating in the release of the Hipparcos Catalogue containing astrometric data for 117 955 stars in 1997. Since mid 2014, Hipparcos’ successor, Gaia, has been collecting astrometric data, with a 100 times improved precision, for 10 000 times as many stars.

ASSESSING RADIATION EXPOSURE INSIDE THE EARTH’S ATMOSPHERE

2020 ◽  
Vol 190 (4) ◽  
pp. 427-436
Author(s):  
Anastasia Tezari ◽  
Pavlos Paschalis ◽  
Helen Mavromichalaki ◽  
Pantelis Karaiskos ◽  
Norma Crosby ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Situational Awareness ◽  
European Space Agency ◽  
Software Application ◽  
Dose Rates ◽  
Earth’S Atmosphere ◽  
Service Centre ◽  
Space Agency ◽  
Earth's Atmosphere ◽  
New Feature

Abstract The study of the particle showers created inside the Earth’s atmosphere due to interactions of cosmic rays of solar and galactic origin is of great importance for the determination of the radiation impact on technological and biological systems. DYASTIMA is a Geant4-based software application that simulates the evolution of secondary particle cascades inside the atmosphere of Earth. DYASTIMA-R is a new feature especially created for assessing the exposure of flight-personnel and frequent flyers to cosmic radiation by performing calculations of radiobiological quantities, such as dose and equivalent dose rates for several air-flight scenarios. In this work, the validation of DYASTIMA/DYASTIMA-R, according to internationally accepted ICRP and ICRU standards, is discussed. Initial results for radiobiological quantities for several air-flight scenarios are also included. The results for specific scenarios calculated by DYASTIMA/DYASTIMA-R are provided as a federated product through the European Space Agency Space Situational Awareness Space Weather Service Centre Network.

scholarly journals Measurements of the amount of ozone in the Earth’s atmosphere arid its relation to other geophysical conditions.— part II

1927 ◽  
Vol 114 (768) ◽  
pp. 521-541 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Pressure Distribution ◽  
Atmospheric Pressure ◽  
General Type ◽  
Upper Atmosphere ◽  
Earth’S Atmosphere ◽  
Atmospheric Pressure Distribution ◽  
Earth's Atmosphere

In a previous paper we have described in detail the method of measuring the total quantity of ozone in the earth’s atmosphere above any locality. Results of measurements made on about 200 days at Oxford in 1925 were also discussed, and it was shown that there was a marked connection between the amount of ozone and the general type of atmospheric pressure distribution, the amount being larger in cyclonic, and smaller in anticyclonic, conditions. As there is evidence that the ozone is entirely in the upper atmosphere, it was obviously desirable to investigate this connection further, and to see if it would throw any light on these meteorological phenomena.

Meteorological Measurements in the Upper Atmosphere

1961 ◽  
Vol 65 (608) ◽  
pp. 532-536
Author(s):  
G. D. Robinson
Keyword(s):  
Upper Atmosphere ◽  
Earth’S Atmosphere ◽  
Earth's Atmosphere ◽  
Considerable Body

It should not be necessary to explain the presence of a meteorologist at a symposium on any aspect of upper atmosphere research. Meteorologists understand their science to comprise the dynamics, thermodynamics and chemistry of atmospheres, wherever atmospheres occur. They are happy to have the facilities for observation and even experiment in the higher layers of the earth's atmosphere which rocket and satellite vehicles begin to provide, but can point to a considerable body of existing knowledge obtained by other means.

scholarly journals Retrieval of O<sub>2</sub>(<sup>1</sup>Σ) and O<sub>2</sub>(<sup>1</sup>Δ) volume emission rates in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere using SCIAMACHY MLT limb scans

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 473-487 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amirmahdi Zarboo ◽  
Stefan Bender ◽  
John P. Burrows ◽  
Johannes Orphal ◽  
Miriam Sinnhuber
Keyword(s):  
Atomic Oxygen ◽  
Near Infrared ◽  
Lower Thermosphere ◽  
European Space Agency ◽  
Emission Rates ◽  
Heating Rates ◽  
Space Agency ◽  
Volume Emission ◽  
Mesosphere And Lower Thermosphere ◽  
Scanning Imaging

Abstract. We present the retrieved volume emission rates (VERs) from the airglow of both the daytime and twilight O2(1Σ) band and O2(1Δ) band emissions in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere (MLT). The SCanning Imaging Absorption SpectroMeter for Atmospheric CHartographY (SCIAMACHY) onboard the European Space Agency Envisat satellite observes upwelling radiances in limb-viewing geometry during its special MLT mode over the range 50–150 km. In this study we use the limb observations in the visible (595–811 nm) and near-infrared (1200–1360 nm) bands. We have investigated the daily mean latitudinal distributions and the time series of the retrieved VER in the altitude range from 53 to 149 km. The maximal observed VERs of O2(1Δ) during daytime are typically 1 to 2 orders of magnitude larger than those of O2(1Σ). The latter peaks at around 90 km, whereas the O2(1Δ) emissivity decreases with altitude, with the largest values at the lower edge of the observations (about 53 km). The VER values in the upper mesosphere (above 80 km) are found to depend on the position of the sun, with pronounced high values occurring during summer for O2(1Δ). O2(1Σ) emissions show additional high values at polar latitudes during winter and spring. These additional high values are presumably related to the downwelling of atomic oxygen after large sudden stratospheric warmings (SSWs). Accurate measurements of the O2(1Σ) and O2(1Δ) airglow, provided that the mechanism of their production is understood, yield valuable information about both the chemistry and dynamics in the MLT. For example, they can be used to infer the amounts and distribution of ozone, solar heating rates, and temperature in the MLT.

Mechanical Cooling Systems for use in Space

1993 ◽  
Vol 207 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
T W Bradshaw ◽  
A H Orlowska
Keyword(s):  
European Space Agency ◽  
The United States ◽  
Upper Atmosphere ◽  
Rutherford Appleton Laboratory ◽  
Cooling Systems ◽  
Oxford University ◽  
Space Agency ◽  
Long Life ◽  
Technology Group ◽  
Internal Funding

This paper describes the development of long-life cooling systems for use in spacecraft. The original single-stage coolers were developed by the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL) and Oxford University for the Improved Stratospheric and Mesospheric Sounder (ISAMS), an Oxford University instrument that will be part of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (US) (NASA's) Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite. Since then RAL has continued development of these coolers to produce lower temperatures and the technology has been transferred to industry via the British Technology Group (BTG). This has been possible by the award of contracts from the European Space Agency (ESA) and internal funding. The coolers are now available from industry and have been baselined for a variety of future instruments both in Europe and the United States.

1. What is special about Earth’s atmosphere?

2017 ◽  
pp. 1-19
Author(s):  
Paul I. Palmer
Keyword(s):  
Middle Atmosphere ◽  
Outer Space ◽  
Upper Atmosphere ◽  
Lower Atmosphere ◽  
Earth’S Atmosphere ◽  
Relative Proximity ◽  
Earth's Atmosphere ◽  
Different Characteristics

‘What is special about Earth’s atmosphere?’ describes the several interconnected layers that make up Earth’s atmosphere before considering the atmospheres of other planets. Each layer has different characteristics determined by the density of air and their relative proximity to Earth’s surface and outer space. The lower atmosphere consists of the troposphere, which extends from the surface to the tropopause at 10–15 km. The middle atmosphere is comprised of the stratosphere, extending to the stratopause at 50 km, and the mesosphere that stretches to the mesopause at 100 km. Above this is the upper atmosphere divided into the thermosphere, which takes us to 500–1,000 km, and the exosphere, which extends to the near vacuum of outer space.

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