End-to-End Laboratory Validation of a Neutral Wind Detector

The purpose of the proposed work is to test a neutral wind sensor in a relevant environment in order to raise its TRL to 6. The sensor measures the ram-component of the neutral wind from an orbiting platform using an energy analysis technique, and incorporates new technology to enable the sensor to be used on a CubeSat platform. Each subsystem within the device has been developed and independently tested under an SBIR grant from the Air Force, but the complete system has never undergone end-to-end testing in a laboratory environment in which a steady-state neutral beam is flowing at orbital speeds. The Naval Research Laboratory has such a facility, so we propose to work with them to perform a series of validation tests on the new sensor. The decadal survey from the National Research Council identifies seven main areas in which focused technology development is required, based on the immediate and projected needs of solar and space physics research. The second and third bullets in this NRC list are: "Developing highly miniaturized spacecraft and advanced spacecraft subsystems for missions involving constellations of multiple spacecraft"; and "Developing highly miniaturized sensors of charged and neutral particles and photons". The sensor we have developed is a miniaturized device that is CubeSat compatible, and therefore a prime candidate for flight on CubeSat constellation missions. At least two NASA-ROSES proposals in the 2018 LCAS cycle involve CubeSat missions in which neutral winds are a critical measurement. The lack of high TRL wind measurement systems for CubeSat platforms is an impediment to such missions, but one that could be mitigated through laboratory testing of new wind sensors such as the one we propose to test. Since the instrument is ready to test and the NRL neutral beam system is operational, we request only a 1-year period of performance with coverage for a single graduate student, plus funding to provide access to the NRL facility.

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.

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