2008 Workshop:Space Science Instrumentation
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Space Science Instrumentation
Contents |
Location
Davos
Date/Time
1300-1500 Tuesday 17 June 2008
Conveners
Format of the Workshop
Short presentations and extended discussion
Duration
2 hours (default)
Estimated attendance
20-30
Conflicts with other workshops
Sessions involving hardware or instrument reports,
IS Radar sessions, Optics sessions, Small satellite sessions, World Day Scheduling meetings, DASI sessions
Special technology requests
none
Forum
Comments, Questions, Discussion Forum
Brief Initial Description
Instruments for measuring properties of the space environment are a fundamental component of progress in CEDAR related science. Remote sensing and in-situ techniques have complementary capabilities which provide insight into physical processes over a wide variety of scales in the atmosphere. This workshop will provide an opportunity to highlight instrument development, deployment, and calibration efforts. Appropriate topics include recent advances and efforts to develop and improve instrumentation and measurement techniques for both ground and satellite based systems. Many of the challenges faced in modern instrument design are common issues and there are patterns associated with their occurrence and solution. The overall intent of the workshop is to identify and share the common problems and solutions which we face in the development and calibration of instrumentation.
Speakers are asked to prepare short talks highlighting the latest developments in space science instrumentation (10-12 minutes ; 6 to 8 slides). As part of the presentation the speaker should identify a critical "pattern" associated with implementing or calibrating a space science instrument. A pattern consists of : a problem which arises, the context in which it occurs, a real or potential method(s) to solve the problem, and the implications of the pattern and solutions when they occur (i.e. what is the meaning for the larger context surrounding the problem). The speakers should attempt to identify patterns which have real significance and potentially broad or important implications. After each talk an extended discussion period (15 minutes) will allow for discussion of the pattern identified by the speaker. This discussion will elicit from the group other contexts where the identified pattern occurs, other potential solutions or approaches, and will attempt to identify if the pattern and solution is common to more than one class of instrument.
For students: Instruments for measuring properties of the space environment are a fundamental component of progress in CEDAR related science. Measurement of the upper atmosphere and ionosphere can be done using a variety of techniques. The primary techniques include radio, optical, and in-situ measurements (direct) from satellite or rocket payloads. With radio and optical techniques there are both active (e.g. radar and lidar) and passive approaches (e.g. spectral monitoring and all sky cameras). From satellite and rocket platforms there are a variety of methods involving the measurement of plasma parameters (e.g. density and energy) as well as fields and waves (e.g. electric and magnetic fields at low and high frequencies). Satellite and rocket platforms are also sometimes used to carry radio beacons or to produce chemical releases. Combined with other techniques these can be used to obtain measurements of atmospheric and ionospheric properties.
This workshop will provide an opportunity to highlight instrument development, deployment, and calibration efforts. The design and construction of instrumentation is a complex effort which bridges engineering and physics and exploits the latest technological developments. Despite the diverse nature of space science instrumentation there are many common issues and patterns which occur. The overall intent of the workshop is to identify and share the common problems and solutions which we face in the development and calibration of instrumentation.
Workshop Summary
The Space Science Instrumentation workshop was attended by on the order of 45 to 50 people over the course of two hours. The workshop consisted of an introduction by Frank and Julio followed by invited speakers, discussion, and time for unscheduled presentations. Speakers were encouraged to identify common "patterns" in their work and Frank highlighted common patterns for the students during the changes between presentations.
The first speaker was Mark Conde of UAF who discussed mesospheric and thermospheric wind measurements by tracking the drifts of chemical trails released by sounding rockets. Mark discussed a new method for releasing a geographically dispersed "constellation" of chemical puffs by ejecting multiple sub-payloads from a single rocket. Each sub-payload will carry a small amount of chemical in an ampule; the chemical will be dispersed in a puff by shattering the ampule explosively. The goal is to disperse a few tens of these puffs over a region of around 100 km horizontal radius and a few tens of km in altitude. With all ampules launched from a single rocket, the entire constellation of puffs should be deployed within 1-2 minutes, which will greatly improve on any previous experiment.
The second speaker was Chuck Swenson of Utah State who focused on several examples from sounding rocket and ISS measurements. These measurements were used to provide examples of a number of important patterns. These included the importance of comparison between techniques, the necessity of understanding the instrument response function (and where you don't understand it), and the necessity of precise calibration. Often when the data from such procedures doesn't make sense it can reveal an important insight into the performance of an instrument.
The third speaker was Eliana Nossa of Cornell University. Eliana described a 30 MHz imaging radar system which has been deployed to Alaska and which overlooks the HAARP facility. The radar system is self contained and automated. Example data from the system was shown with the HAARP facility producing a modulation of coherent scatter in the radar field of view.
The fourth speaker was Simon Shepard of Dartmouth College. Simon discussed the deployment of a number of mid-latitude SuperDARN radar systems. Two such systems are now in place at Wallops Island and Blackstone and several more systems are planned for deployment in the near future. These radar systems overlook the plasmasphere boundary layer and have have already made interesting observations of temperature gradient driven instabilities. They are well positioned for monitoring storm time conditions. Key to the development of these new systems has been an improved and less expensive antenna design.
The fifth speaker was Cesar Valladares of Boston College. Cesar discussed the design of the LISN network including the deployment sites, the challenges of operating many remote sites, and the computing infrastructure used to collect and organize the data. Cesar discussed methods for estimating bias in TEC measurements from the LISN system.
A number of speakers gave brief presentations during the unscheduled discussion period. These included :
Christopher Watts of UNM who discussed the Long Wavelength Array which is a low frequency radio telescope currently being built in the southwest USA. This instrument is designed primarily for astronomical observations but will produce high precision ionospheric estimates as part of its online calibration. An overview of the instrument was presented along with a status update on the development. Example data from a VLA experiment was presented.
Marcin Pilinski of UC Boulder discussed the DANDE (Drag and Atmospheric Neutral Density Explorer) project. This satellite instrument is designed to be a low cost method of measuring drag effects on spacecraft between 100 and 350km altitude. The discussion focused primarily on the neutral mass spectrometer design and testing.
Frank Lind of MIT Haystack observatory discussed the ISIS (Intercepted Signals for Ionospheric Science) project. This instrument array has been deployed to mid-latitudes to provide observations of the plasmasphere boundary layer using active and passive radio techniques. The status of the instrument array was discussed along with early observations.
Overall there was a reasonable level of questioning and discussion given the size of the audience and the limited time available.
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