CubeSat: Climatology of Anthropogenic and Natural VLF wave Activity in Space (CANVAS)

CubeSat：太空中人为和自然 VLF 波活动的气候学 (CANVAS)

• 批准号: 1841011
• 负责人: Robert Marshall
• 金额: $ 119.67万
• 依托单位: University of Colorado at Boulder
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2019
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2019-02-01 至 2024-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1841011&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: CubeSat; Climatology; Anthropogenic; Natural; VLF

The goal of this 4-year project is to develop the Climatology of Anthropogenic and Natural Very Low Frequency (VLF) wave Activity in Space (CANVAS) Cubesat which will measure VLF wave energy that originates from lightning and ground-based transmitters and propagates to the outer reaches of Earth's magnetic field (the magnetosphere). Previous research has shown that VLF waves from these sources play a significant role in the dynamics of Earths radiation environment. This project will focus on quantifying how much VLF energy from sources on the Earth's surface and in the atmosphere propagates through the charged layers of Earth's upper atmosphere and into the magnetosphere. This is important for understanding the extent to which ground based electromagnetic sources can impact the near-Earth space environment. The project is led by two early career scientists, engages graduate students through class participation, and provides funding for undergraduate and postdoctoral research experience. CANVAS consists of a three-axis magnetic search coil deployed on the end of a 1-meter carbon fiber boom; together with a two-axis dipole antenna. Together, these five wave components will be used to determine the wave power spectral density at 1 second time resolution using real-time Fast Fourier Transforms calculated in onboard Field Programmable Gate Arrays. Data will be sent to the ground to determine the full set of wave parameters, including polarization, planarity, and k-vector direction. The CANVAS CubeSat will employ the Blue Canyon Attitude Determination and Control System to provide sub-degree pointing accuracy, together with heritage spacecraft subsystems from the previous successful missions at CU Boulder. An S-band transceiver and dual antennas will communicate with a new ground station in Boulder to downlink all of the science data. The cubesat will take continuous measurements in low Earth orbit to address the following science questions: i) What is the average electromagnetic energy input into the space environment by lightning? ii) What is the spectrum of VLF wave energy above the ionosphere in the 0.3-50 kHz frequency range? iii) What is the transmission transfer function of the ionosphere for VLF energy, and how does it vary in space and time?This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

这个为期四年的项目的目标是开发空间人为和自然甚低频（VLF）波活动气候学（CANVAS）立方卫星，它将测量源自闪电和地面发射器并传播到地球磁场（磁层）外围的VLF波能量。先前的研究表明，这些来源的甚低频波在地球辐射环境的动力学中发挥着重要作用。该项目将重点量化来自地球表面和大气层的甚低频能量有多少通过地球高层大气的带电层传播到磁层。这对于了解地面电磁源对近地空间环境的影响程度非常重要。该项目由两名早期职业科学家领导，通过课堂参与吸引研究生，并为本科生和博士后研究经验提供资金。 CANVAS由部署在1米长碳纤维吊杆末端的三轴磁力搜索线圈组成；与双轴偶极天线一起。这五个波分量将用于使用板载现场可编程门阵列中计算的实时快速傅立叶变换来确定 1 秒时间分辨率的波功率谱密度。数据将被发送到地面以确定全套波参数，包括偏振、平面度和 k 向量方向。 CANVAS CubeSat 将采用 Blue Canyon 姿态确定和控制系统，以及 CU Boulder 之前成功执行任务的传统航天器子系统，以提供亚度的指向精度。 S 波段收发器和双天线将与博尔德的一个新地面站通信，以下行传输所有科学数据。立方体卫星将在低地球轨道上进行连续测量，以解决以下科学问题： i) 闪电输入到太空环境的平均电磁能量是多少？ ii) 电离层上方 0.3-50 kHz 频率范围内的 VLF 波能量频谱是多少？ iii) 电离层对 VLF 能量的传输传递函数是什么？它在空间和时间上如何变化？该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。