Development and Testing of a miniaturized Double Langmuir Probe for Small-satellite Platforms

The main objective of this proposal is to design, simulate, prototype, and demonstrate the ability of a novel low size-weight-and-power (SWaP) double Langmuir probe to measure thermal electron temperature and high-rate density from small-satellite platforms. Langmuir probes have been around for almost a century and their various implementations have been flown on satellites of all size and shapes. The basic principle is analysis of a Current Voltage (I-V) curve where the measured current is a function of voltage bias, probe shape, and various plasma parameters that we wish to determine. Common shapes are cylinders, spheres & planar patches. The two most common implementations of Langmuir probe technique are the fixed bias and sweeping bias. Fixed bias probes only give density measurements whereas sweeping bias probes give density and electron temperature measurements. Advancements in highly sensitive integrated circuits have aided the creation of low SWaP fixed bias Langmuir probes suitable for CubeSats enabling high-rate plasma density measurements, but the measurement of the electron temperature from CubeSats remains challenging due to the sweeping bias requirements. This is because when the ratio of spacecraft conductive area to that of the probe area is small (< 1000), the spacecraft charges dynamically as the probe is swept to higher positive voltages. Without a stable chassis ground the voltage seen by the plasma is not accurately known, thus it is extremely challenging if not impossible to measure electron temperature reliably on small satellite platforms. The proposed miniaturized Double Langmuir Probe (mDLP) is basically a floating double-probe formed by sweeping two small conductive equal-area probes with potentials relative to one another and analyzing the current difference. As the bias on the sensor is not swept relative to the chassis ground, any satellite with a small surface area ratio will be immune to dynamic charging. As part of the proposed effort NASCAP simulations will be performed, and the developed probe will be tested in a plasma chamber to demonstrate the capabilities in a realistic plasma environment. The mDLP instrument will be able to make faster than 10 Hz electron temperature measurement and faster than 1 KHz plasma density measurement from a small satellite platform. Specifically, the ability to make these measurements on a CubeSat platform is of critical importance to the heliophysics community due to availability of standardized commercial buses and ever-increasing launch opportunities. On successful completion of the project, the Technology Readiness level (TRL) will be raised from TRL 3 to TRL 6. Investigation towards two particular science questions would be directly enabled upon successful completion of the proposed instrument development and eventual deployment on a CubeSat constellation: 1. What is the longitudinal and seasonal distribution of enhanced electron temperatures in the dawn and dusk sectors of the low-latitude ionosphere? 2. What is the seasonal, local time and magnetic activity dependence of the occurrence of hot polar patches in the nighttime auroral/polar ionosphere? The detailed understanding of these questions critically hinge upon in-situ electron temperature and density observations. Moreover, in order to make simultaneous measurements from a constellation of satellites on a resource-limited low budget mission, it is imperative that a CubeSat compatible device is developed for future missions. The science objectives outlined and other potential science questions that can be answered using these key plasma parameters also align with the objectives of the NASA Heliophysics Roadmap since they seek to “Understand how the ionosphere-thermosphere system responds to, and regulates magnetospheric forcing over global, region and local scales”.

Support NASA's Heliophysics strategic science objectives to understand the Sun and its interactions with Earth and the solar system, including space weather. This will be achieved by developing/demonstrating instrumentation technology necessary to address the following science goals: Explore the physical processes in the space environment from the Sun to the Earth and throughout the solar system; Advance our understanding of the connections that link the Sun, the Earth, planetary space environments, and the outer reaches of our solar system; Develop the knowledge and capability to detect and predict extreme conditions in space to protect life and society and to safeguard human and robotic explorers beyond Earth.

This is a mature technology (TRL 7+) — the realistic path in is usually NASA's Technology Transfer Program: licensing an existing NASA patent, or a Space Act Agreement to use NASA facilities/expertise directly. NASA also runs a startup licensing program with no upfront fee for companies formed to commercialize a specific NASA technology.

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