The Tiny Remote-sensing Instrument for Thermospheric Oxygen and Nitrogen (TRITON) is being developed by the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) for detection of neutral components of the daytime thermosphere. TRITON measures naturally occurring, far ultraviolet (FUV) emissions of the upper atmosphere that are produced as a result of solar excitation. The sensor concept is based primarily on multiple sensors previously developed at NRL with recent spaceflight heritage. The legacy optics have been under evaluation and development for extension to new emission targets and brighter ambient environments. Recent TRITON development work has included characterization of a new photomultiplier tube and comparison to performance of a previously used model. In addition, several bandpass filters are evaluated for their effectiveness in providing the out-of-band rejection needed to isolate the FUV and MUV emissions of interest. The primary optical layout of TRITON sensors will be described to highlight the components that have been changed or adapted for use in the new configuration. The results of recent lab tests will also be shown to demonstrate the expected performance of TRITON relative to prior, legacy components and subsystems.
Metal atoms and ions are deposited into the Earth’s Upper Atmosphere and Ionosphere via meteor ablation. The neutral atoms can undergo charge exchange with extant O+, O2+, and N2+ ions to become metallic ions. Metallic ions have lifetimes of several days in the ionosphere, allowing vertical wind shear to compress them into thin, dense layers that subsequently produce Sporadic-E propagation of HF radio signals. The Triple Magnesium Ionospheric Photometer (Tri-MIP) instrument was developed by the US Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) to observe airglow emissions from magnesium ions (Mg+) in the Earth’s atmosphere and measure global-scale Mg+ density from orbit as a proxy for the metallic ion population. This CubeSat compatible Space Weather sensor is a 1U ionospheric photometer that observes the ultraviolet 280 nm fluorescent emission of Mg+ on the sunlit portion of the orbit. The primary objective is to characterize the Mg+ distribution in the Earth’s atmosphere. We present the Tri-MIP instrument concept, laboratory measurements, and upcoming mission concepts.
The Coordinated Ionospheric Reconstruction Cubesat Experiment (CIRCE) is a joint US/UK mission consisting of two 6U CubeSats actively maintaining a lead-follow configuration in the same low Earth orbit with a launch planned for the 2020 timeframe. These nanosatellites will each feature multiple space weather payloads. From the US, the Naval Research Laboratory will provide two 1U Triple Tiny Ionospheric Photometers (Tri-TIPs) on each satellite, observing the ultraviolet 135.6 nm emission of atomic oxygen at nighttime. The primary objective is to characterize the twodimensional distribution of electrons in the Equatorial Ionization Anomaly (EIA). The methodology used to reconstruct the nighttime ionosphere employs continuous UV photometry from four distinct viewing angles in combination with an additional data source, such as in situ plasma density measurements, with advanced image space reconstruction algorithm tomography techniques. From the UK, the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) is providing the In-situ and Remote Ionospheric Sensing suite consisting of an Ion/Neutral Mass Spectrometer, a triple-frequency GPS receiver for ionospheric sensing, and a radiation environment monitor. We present our mission concept, simulations illustrating the imaging capability of the Tri-TIP sensor suite, and a range of science questions addressable via these measurements.
The second generation Tiny Ionospheric Photometer (TIP) is a compact, high-sensitivity, nighttime ionospheric photometer designed for small satellites. TIP launched February 19, 2017 to the International Space Station as part of the GPS Radio Occultation and Ultraviolet Photometry—Colocated (GROUP-C) experiment to test advanced sensing objectives. The TIP optical design improves upon previously-flown photometers and employs a filter wheel to measure signals. The third generation sensor is a 1U Cubesat-compatible Triple Tiny Ionospheric Photometer (Tri-TIP), manifested to fly on the dual 6U Coordinated Ionospheric Reconstruction CubeSat Experiment (CIRCE) in early 2020. The Tri-TIP design builds upon several technologies demonstrated aboard TIP, but utilizes a beam splitter to simultaneously monitor signal, red-leak, and background signals. This paper compares the pre-flight and on-orbit performance of TIP with pre-test theoretical results for Tri-TIP.
The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) has developed the Triple Tiny Ionospheric Photometer (Tri-TIP), an ultraviolet remote-sensing instrument based on the TIP. Tri-TIP measures emissions of atomic oxygen (Oi 135.6 nm) to determine plasma density in the nighttime ionosphere. The Tri-TIP design shrinks TIP to a 1U CubeSat form-factor and simplifies the mechanical design with a three-channel photometer system to isolate the target wavelength without a filter wheel. A heated strontium fluoride (SrF2) filter eliminates incoming light at wavelengths shorter than 135.6 nm. The filtered light is divided between two matched photometers by a beam splitter with a magnesium fluoride coating over aluminum (AlMgF2) deposited on 50% of the surface in a polka-dot pattern. The third photometer monitors dark count noise for later subtraction. One Tri-TIP configuration uses a beam splitter with a sapphire (Al2O3) substrate, which is opaque to wavelengths shorter than ∼140 nm, to later subtract contaminating emissions at wavelengths longer than 140 nm. A second Tri-TIP configuration uses a MgF2 substrate beam splitter to simultaneously measure Oi 135.6 nm from two adjacent fields-of-view. The performance of both beam splitters has been tested at NRL, and the results are presented.
We have developed the Triple Tiny Ionospheric Photometer (Tri-TIP) as a CubeSat-compatible 1U sensor to obtain high-sensitivity measurements of the far-ultraviolet (FUV) OI 1356 Å airglow for remote sensing of ionospheric density. The Tri-TIP concept evolved from heritage sensors flown on the COSMIC/FORMOSAT-3 (CF3) constellation, and more recently as part of the GPS and Radio Occultation and UV Photometry – Colocated (GROUP-C) experiment on the International Space Station. The concept for all of these sensors is to isolate this emission using heated strontium-fluoride filters to eliminate shorter wavelength emissions such as O I 1304 Å and H I 1216 Å and cesium iodide photocathodes to reduce sensitivity longward of ~1800 Å. There are no other spectral features in this FUV portion of the airglow spectrum at night. However, the nadir-viewing sensors on CF3 observed significant long-wavelength emissions from city lights and moonlit clouds that contaminated the data. The GROUP-C instrument included a sapphire filter that could be alternated with the strontium fluoride to measure and remove this spectral “red leak” from the observations. The Tri-TIP design pairs a heated strontium fluoride filter in line with a sapphire beam splitter that feeds the UV (with spectral leak) and long-wavelength (spectral leak only) signals to two matched photomultiplier tubes (PMTs). A third PMT monitors the signal contribution from high-energy particles and dark current. We present the results from laboratory tests of these components that ensure the high-sensitivity performance of this new optical configuration for ionospheric remote sensing and imaging from a CubeSat platform.
The Coordinated Ionospheric Reconstruction Cubesat Experiment (CIRCE) is a dual-satellite mission consisting of two 6U CubeSats actively maintaining a lead-follow configuration in the same orbit with a launch planned for the 2018-2019 time-frame. These nanosatellites will each feature two 1U size ultraviolet photometers, observing the 135.6 nm emission of atomic oxygen at nighttime. The primary objective is to characterize the two-dimensional distribution of electrons in the orbital plane of the vehicles with special emphasis on studying the morphology of the Equatorial Ionization Anomaly (EIA). The methodology used to reconstruct the nighttime ionosphere employs continuous UV photometry from four distinct viewing angles in combination with an additional data source, such as in situ plasma density measurements or a wide-band beacon data, with advanced image space reconstruction algorithm tomography techniques. The COSMIC/FORMOSAT-3 (CF3) constellation featured six Tiny Ionospheric Photometers, compact UV sensors which served as the pathfinder for the CIRCE instruments. The TIP instruments on the CF3 satellites demonstrated detection of ionospheric bubbles before they had penetrated the peak of the F-region ionosphere, showed the temporal evolution of the EIA, and observed a Medium Scale Travelling Ionospheric Disturbance. We present our mission concept, some pertinent information regarding the instrument design, the results of simulations illustrating the imaging capability of the sensor suite, and a range of science questions addressable using such a system.
The Winds-Ions-Neutral Composition Suite (WINCS) instrument, also known as the Small Wind and Temperature Spectrometer (SWATS), was designed and developed jointly by the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) and NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) for ionosphere-thermosphere investigations in orbit between 120 and 550 km altitude. The WINCS instrument houses four spectrometers in a single package with size, weight, and power compatible with a CubeSat. These spectrometers provide the following measurements: neutral winds, neutral temperature, neutral density, neutral composition, ion drifts, ion temperature, ion density and ion composition. The instrument is currently operating on the International Space Station and on the STP-Sat3 spacecraft. Data from the Ion-Drift Temperature-Spectrometer (IDTS) are used to compute the ion drift, temperature, and density in the presence of large changes in spacecraft potential. A summary is given of future flight manifests.
The SSULI (Special Sensor Ultraviolet Limb Imager) is a limb-scanning far- and extreme-ultraviolet spectrometer flying on the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP). The sensor sensitivity is tracked through the mission life by taking advantage of serendipitous stellar apparitions which, over the course of several days, track across the sensor’s field of view, allowing for not only the production of a sensitivity curve when compared against the known stellar spectra, but additionally pointing information and field-of-view information can be gleaned from comparing the star’s expected and observed positions. Most notably, because the star’s apparition traces across the field of view predictably in one axis, and randomly in another, multiple apparitions of these point sources can be used to map out the gain on the detector’s entire surface, revealing the existence and extent of localized gain sags. Additionally, multiple, routinized, and scheduled calibrations can be used to track sensor behavior through the mission life, including effects like a detector scrub, photocathode performance, and possible optics contamination. Results from the SSULI 002/DMSP F18 and SSULI 005/DMSP F19 stellar calibrations are presented.
The Limb-imaging Ionospheric and Thermospheric Extreme-ultraviolet Spectrograph (LITES) and GPS Radio Occultation and Ultraviolet Photometry-Colocated (GROUP-C) experiments are being considered for flight aboard the Space Test Program Houston 5 (STP-H5) experiment pallet to the International Space Station (ISS). LITES is a compact imaging spectrograph that makes one-dimensional images of atmospheric and ionospheric ultraviolet (60-140 nm) airglow above the limb of the Earth. The LITES optical design is advantageous in that it uses a toroidal grating as its lone optical surface to create these high-sensitivity images without the need for any moving parts. GROUP-C consists of two instruments: a nadir-viewing ultraviolet photometer that measures nighttime ionospheric airglow at 135.6 nm with unprecedented sensitivity, and a GPS receiver that measures ionospheric electron content and scintillation with the assistance of a novel antenna array designed for multipath mitigation. By flying together, these two experiments form an ionospheric observatory aboard the ISS that will provide new capability to study low- and mid-latitude ionospheric structures on a global scale. This paper presents the design and implementation of the LITES and GROUP-C experiments on the STP-H5 payload that will combine for the first time high-sensitivity in-track photometry with vertical spectrographic imagery of ionospheric airglow to create high-fidelity images of ionospheric structures. The addition of the GPS radio occultation measurement provides the unique opportunity to constrain, as well as cross-validate, the merged airglow measurements.
The Remote Atmospheric and Ionospheric Detection System (RAIDS) is new NASA experiment studying the Earth's
thermosphere and ionosphere from a vantage point on the International Space Station (ISS). RAIDS along with a
companion hyperspectral imaging experiment were launched in September 2009 to operate as the first US payload on the
Japanese Experiment Module-Exposed Facility. The scientific objectives of the RAIDS experiment are to study the
temperature of the lower thermosphere (100-200 km), to measure composition and chemistry of the lower thermosphere
and ionosphere, and to measure the initial source of O+ 83.4 nm emission. The RAIDS sensor complement includes
three photometers, three spectrometers, and two spectrographs which span the wavelength range 50-874 nm and scan or
image the atmospheric limb 90-300 km. After installation aboard the ISS, RAIDS underwent a 30-day checkout period
before entering science operations. RAIDS is serving as a pathfinder for atmospheric remote sensing from the ISS, and
the experiment team gained valuable operational insights using this space platform throughout the first year of the
mission. This paper describes key aspects of experiment performance relevant to interpreting RAIDS science data and
designing future atmospheric remote sensing experiments for the ISS.
This paper presents an analysis of the sensitivity changes experienced by three of the eight sensors that comprise
the Remote Atmospheric and Ionospheric Detection System (RAIDS) after more than a year operating on board
the International Space Station (ISS). These sensors are the Extreme Ultraviolet Spectrograph (EUVS) that
covers 550-1100 Å, the Middle Ultraviolet (MUV) spectrometer that covers 1900-3100Å, and the Near Infrared
Spectrometer (NIRS) that covers 7220-8740 Å. The scientific goal for RAIDS is comprehensive remote sensing of
the temperature, composition, and structure of the lower thermosphere and ionosphere from 85-200 km. RAIDS
was installed on the ISS Japanese Expansion Module External Facility (JEM-EF) in September of 2009. After
initial checkout the sensors began routine operations that are only interrupted for sensor safety by occasional
ISS maneuvers as well as a few days per month when the orbit imparts a risk from exposure to the Sun. This
history of measurements has been used to evaluate the rate of degradation of the RAIDS sensors exposed to an
environment with significant sources of particulate and molecular contamination. The RAIDS EUVS, including
both contamination and detector gain sag, has shown an overall signal loss rate of 0.2% per day since the start
of the mission, with an upper boundary of 0.13% per day attributed solely to contamination effects. This upper
boundary is driven by uncertainty in the change in the emission field due to changing solar conditions, and there
is strong evidence that the true loss due to contamination is significantly smaller. The MUV and NIRS have
shown stability to within 1% over the first year of operations.
The Remote Atmospheric and Ionospheric Detection System (RAIDS) is a suite of three photometers, three spectrometers, and two spectrographs which span the wavelength range 50-874 nm and remotely sense the thermosphere and ionosphere by scanning and imaging the limb. RAIDS was originally designed, built, delivered, and integrated onto a NOAA TIROS satellite in 1992. After a series of unfruitful flight opportunities, RAIDS is now certified for flight on
the Kibo Japanese Experiment Module-Exposed Facility (JEM-EF) aboard the International Space Station (ISS) in September 2009. The RAIDS mission objectives have been refocused since its original flight opportunity to accommodate the lower ISS orbit and to account for recent scientific progress. RAIDS underwent a fast-paced hardware modification program to prepare for the ISS mission. The scientific objectives of the new RAIDS experiment are to study the temperature of the lower thermosphere (100-200 km), to measure composition and chemistry of the lower thermosphere and ionosphere, and to measure the initial source of OII 83.4 nm emission. RAIDS will provide valuable data useful for exploring tidal effects in the thermosphere and ionosphere system, validating dayside ionospheric remote sensing methods, and studying local time variations in important chemical and thermal processes.
The RAIDS experiment is a suite of eight instruments to be flown aboard the Japanese Experiment Module-Exposed Facility on the International Space Station (ISS) in late 2009. Originally designed, built, and integrated onto the NOAA TIROS-J satellite in 1993, the original RAIDS hardware and the mission objectives have been modified for this ISS flight opportunity. In this paper we describe the four near infrared instruments on the RAIDS experiment covering the wavelength range of 630 - 870 nm. Over the past two years these instruments have undergone modification, refurbishment, and testing in preparation for flight. We present updated sensor characteristics relevant to this new ISS mission and discuss performance stability in light of the long instrument storage period.
The four instruments, operating in a limb scanning geometry, will be used to observe the spectral radiance of atomic and molecular emission from the Earth's upper atmospheric airglow. The passbands of the photometers are centered on the atomic lines OI(777.4), OI[630.0], and the 0-0 band of O2 Atmospheric band at 765 nm. The spectrometer scans from 725 to 870 nm. These observations will be used in conjunction with the other RAIDS instruments to investigate the properties of the lower thermosphere and to improve understanding of the connections of the region to the space
environment, solar energy flux and the lower atmosphere. These studies are fundamentally important to the understanding the effects of the atmosphere and ionosphere on space systems and their operation in areas such as satellite drag, communications and navigation.
The Remote Atmospheric and Ionospheric Detection System (RAIDS) is a suite of eight sensors covering wavelengths from 55 to 874 nm that has been developed for comprehensive remote sensing of the upper atmosphere. Initially designed to orbit on a higher-altitude TIROS satellite, the RAIDS experiment has been refurbished for a new mission on the International Space Station Japanese Experiment Module Exposed Facility (JEM-EF). RAIDS measures the altitude profiles of dayglow and nightglow emissions for specification of key ionospheric and thermospheric constituents. This paper details four of the RAIDS sensors that will measure spectral features in
the extreme (55-110 nm), far (130-180 nm), middle (200-300 nm), and near (300-400 nm) ultraviolet bands. The radiometric and spectral recharacterization of these sensors is highlighted, along with an overview of the primary features that this combination of experiments will measure to provide an unique perspective on the response of the ionosphere and thermosphere to space weather events.
We describe a new technique of space based spectral imagery for a spinning platform. The technique uses tomographic inversion to produce a 2D spectral image using a novel imaging spectrograph. The spectrograph uses a single optical element with a large field of view. Our technique delivers high throughput due to continuous observation of the scene at all wavelengths. The challenge of spectral imaging is to obtain 3D information from a time series of 2D data. In our technique, we obtain spectral information along one detector dimension, while two dimensions of spatial information are combined into the second dimension of the detector for each time step. With the spin axis of the spacecraft located at the center of the scene, we recover the 2D of spatial information from a series of these individual 'snapshots'. We will report on the results obtained on May 8, 1997 by a sounding rocket experiment using this technique in the 80- 140nm wavelength range, on the Scorpio constellation.
Our spectrograph for photometric imaging with numeric reconstruction uses a novel technique to produce 2D spectral images using a 1D imaging spectrometer. By varying the dispersion direction with respect to the center of the field-of-view, we produce a series of images with the intensity of each pixel equal to the integrated intensity of the field-of-view along the dispersion direction. Reconstruction of the 2D spectral image from this series of profiles can be accomplished with a variety of numerical methods. We present results obtained using the maximum entropy algorithm on lab tests, which include expected instrument noise, and compare this method to analytical backprojection methods. Finally, in each of these tests, we present improvements in speed over previous results through code optimization, which improves the viability of using the maximum entropy algorithm for spectroscopic imaging.
This paper describes a system for performing high resolution spectroscopy with 2D spatial imaging. We motivate the discussion by describing the application of our system to the astronomical study of dust in the interstellar medium. Our methodology can be implemented on a wide variety of optical systems from a wide variety of platforms. Several such configurations are discussed.
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