CubeSat: Cubesat investigating Atmospheric Density Response to Extreme driving (CADRE)

该项目是一个协调的科学计划，其主要仪器是一个名为Cubesat的3单元（3U）立方体卫星，用于研究极端驾驶的大气密度响应（CADRE）。计划中的科学调查涉及与离子-中性耦合有关的基本问题，包括中性风形态和动力学，这是了解热层如何对能量输入作出反应以及这在磁层-电离层耦合中发挥作用的关键。该项目带来了一套独特而全面的新的和现有的测量和建模来解决这个问题。这包括利用计划中的立方体卫星分别对高纬度热层和顶侧电离层的密度、温度、成分、中性风和离子流进行现场测量。目前这类数据很少，地面仪器无法大规模提供。卫星设计的很大一部分是以极光探测器无线电为基础的，极光探测器是美国国家科学基金会立方体卫星的第一颗，由密歇根大学的学生和该项目小组的成员建造。先进的仪器有效载荷是最近通过NASA和海军研究实验室之间的合作开发的一种新设计，并将通过NRL和NASA戈达德太空飞行中心的内部努力提供给该项目。该项目采用综合观测方法，其中包括一个地面部分，利用非相干散射雷达数据进行小规模调查，利用SuperDARN雷达和电离层电动力学同化测绘模式进行大规模背景下的可能性，利用法布里-珀罗干涉仪测量中性风和温度，以及利用所有天空图像确定极光降水。此外，来自其他卫星任务的建模和测量，如Swarm和AMPERE，将用于数据的解释。该项目是密歇根大学和海军研究实验室之间的合作。后者将提供科学有效载荷。CADRE是一个学生驱动的计划，本科生，硕士和博士。UM的学生合作设计，建造，测试，发射和操作立方体卫星。全职博士学生将参与项目的各个方面，从设计，集成和测试到数据分析。还计划努力接触K-12学校，让他们参加许多活动，包括一个受欢迎的高空气球项目。原始数据和处理后的数据将以各种格式传播，并提供数据可视化软件，数据将在国家储存库存档。该项目将对热层中性风、温度和成分进行大量高分辨率、高保真度的测量，这将成为更广泛的大气和空间科学研究界的宝贵资源。 此外，该项目的成果将有助于改进空间气象建模和高层大气中性密度分布的预测，这对于准确的轨道确定以及卫星的实际跟踪和避免碰撞至关重要。所讨论的现场中性风测量很难获得，这是一项高风险的工作，但在提供基本热层参数的独特观测数据集和相关的尖端，潜在的变革性科学发现方面具有极高的潜在回报。

This project is a coordinated science program, whose main instrument is a 3-Unit (3U) CubeSat named Cubesat investigating Atmospheric Density Response to Extreme driving (CADRE). The planned science investigation addresses fundamental issues related to ion-neutral coupling, including neutral wind morphology and dynamics that are key to understanding how the thermosphere reacts to energy input and the role this plays in magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling. This project brings a unique and comprehensive set of new and existing measurements and modeling to bear on this problem. This includes in-situ measurements from the planned CubeSat of density, temperature, composition, neutral winds, and ion flows of the high-latitude thermosphere and top-side ionosphere, respectively. Very little such data currently exist and cannot be provided on large scale from ground-based instrumentation. Significant portions of the satellite design is based on the Radio Aurora eXplorer (RAX), the first of the NSF CubeSats, which was built at the University of Michigan by students and members of this project team. The advanced instrument payload is a new design that has been developed recently through a collaboration between NASA and the Naval Research Laboratory and will be provided to this project through very substantial leveraging of internal efforts at NRL and NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. The project adopts a comprehensive observational approach, incorporating a ground-based component that utilizes incoherent scatter radar data for small-scale investigations, SuperDARN radar and Assimilative Mapping of Ionospheric Electrodynamics (AMIE) patterns of the potential for large-scale context, Fabry Perot Interferometer measurements of the neutral winds and temperatures as well as all sky imagery to determine the auroral precipitation. Further, modeling and measurements from other satellite missions, such as Swarm and AMPERE, will be utilized in the interpretation of the data.The project is a collaboration between University of Michigan and Naval Research Laboratory. The latter will provide the science payload. CADRE is a student driven program, where undergraduate, Master's and Ph.D. students at UM work collaboratively to design, build, test, launch and operate the CubeSat. A full-time Ph.D. student will be involved in every aspect of the project, from the design, integration and testing to the data analysis. Efforts are also planned to reach out to K-12 schools to include them in many of the activities including a popular high altitude balloon program. The raw and processed data will be disseminated in a variety of formats as well as making software available for visualization of the data and the data will be archived at a national repository. The project will produce a wealth of high resolution, high fidelity measurements of the thermospheric neutral winds, temperature and composition that will constitute a valuable resource for the wider atmospheric and space science research community. In addition, the results of the project will help improve space weather modeling and forecasting of neutral density distributions in the upper atmosphere, something that is crucial for accurate orbit determination as well as operational tracking of satellites and collision avoidance. The in-situ neutral winds measurements in question are difficult to obtain making this a high-risk effort but one with immensely high potential pay-off in providing a unique observational dataset of fundamental thermosphere parameters and related cutting-edge, potentially transformational scientific findings.