CubeSat: Dynamic Ionosphere Cubesat Experiment (DICE)

该奖项是根据2009年《美国复苏和再投资法案》(公法111-5)提供资金的。该项目是由犹他州立大学、ASTRA LLC、安布里-里德尔大学和克莱姆森大学的空间科学家和工程师合作完成的。这项为期三年的跨学科团队工作的目标是建造和操作一套微小的、所谓的立方体卫星航天器。每颗卫星都将携带一个直流探头(DCP)来测量就地电离层等离子体密度，以及一个电场探头(EFP)来测量直流和交流电场。这些测量将能够准确地确定电离层等离子体分布中的风暴时间特征，如风暴增强密度(SED)凸起和羽流，以及以前丢失的同时同一地点的电场测量。动态电离层立方体实验(DICE)任务的主要科学目标是了解美国南部(SED凸起)上空大幅增强的等离子体究竟是如何形成的，等离子体的来源是什么；什么物理驱动因素参与了SED羽流的形成和演化，它们的相对重要性是什么；以及最后，穿透电场的发生、Appleton异常峰值的随后扩展和SED的发展之间到底有什么关系，特别是为什么明显偏爱美国地理部门。空间天气是指可能影响天基和地面技术系统的性能和可靠性的空间条件。赤道、极光和中纬度的电离层梯度和不规则性对导航、通信和监视系统产生了重大的空间天气影响。为了提高我们预测这些空间天气事件及其影响的能力，需要更好地描述和了解这些电离层特征。DICE将为SED功能提供重要的新衡量标准，并洞察导致它们实现这些目标的原因。该项目将追求科学发现，同时提供独特和鼓舞人心的教育机会。它依赖于本科生和研究生在任务的各个方面的广泛参与。学生参与拟议工作的每个领域将为所有参与机构以及为少数群体服务的德克萨斯大学圣安东尼奥分校(UTSA)提供教育好处。除了实践工作外，该任务还将为课堂提供材料，以激发学生对科学的兴趣。立方体卫星任务中涉及的新的、基本上未经验证的技术，本质上使该项目与重大风险联系在一起。然而，另一方面，该项目不仅在其自身的研究领域内，而且在更大的空间科学和大气研究领域，以及在航空航天工程和教育领域，都具有巨大的变革潜力。此外，该项目将是首批执行多航天器立方体卫星任务的两个项目之一，从而突破这一新兴技术的极限。

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). This project is a collaboration between space scientists and engineers at Utah State University, ASTRA LLC, Embry-Riddle University, and Clemson University. The objective of this three-year cross-disciplinary team effort is to build and operate a set of tiny, so-called CubeSat, spacecraft. Each satellite will carry a DC Probe (DCP) to measure in-situ ionospheric plasma densities, and an Electric Field Probe (EFP) to measure DC and AC electric fields. These measurements will permit accurate identification of storm-time features in the distribution of ionospheric plasma, such as the Storm Enhanced Density (SED) bulge and plume, together with simultaneous co-located electric field measurements which have previously been missing. The primary scientific objective of the Dynamic Ionosphere Cubesat Experiment (DICE) mission is to understand how exactly the greatly enhanced plasma is formed over the southern USA (the SED bulge) and what is the source of the plasma; what physical drivers are involved in the formation and evolution of the SED plume, and what is their relative importance; and, finally, what is the precise relationship between the occurrence of penetration electric fields, the subsequent expansion of the Appleton anomaly crests, and the development of SED, particularly in terms of why there is an apparent preference for the USA geographic sector. Space weather refers to conditions in space that can influence the performance and reliability of space-borne and ground-based technological systems. Ionospheric gradients and irregularities at equatorial, auroral, and mid latitudes produce major space weather effects on navigation, communications and surveillance systems. To advance our abilities to predict these space weather events and their effects these ionospheric features need to be better characterized and understood. DICE will provide important new measurements of SED features and insight into what causes them towards meeting these goals. The project will pursue scientific discovery while providing unique and inspiring educational opportunities. It relies on extensive undergraduate and graduate student involvement through all aspects of the mission. The involvement of students in every area of the proposed work will provide educational benefits at all of the participating institutions as well as at University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA), a minority-serving institution. In addition to the hands-on work, the mission will provide material for classes that will serve to motivate students with regard to science. The new, largely unproven technology involved in cubesat missions, inherently makes the project associated with significant risks. On the other hand, however, the project has tremendous potential to be transformational not only within its own research area but also for the larger field of space science and atmospheric research as well as within aerospace engineering and education. In addition, the project will be one of the first two to carry out a multi-spacecraft CubeSat mission, thus pushing the limit of this emerging technology.