CubeSat: Electron Losses and Fields INvestigation (ELFIN)

该项目旨在设计、开发、操作和分析立方体卫星任务的结果，该任务名为电子损失和场调查（ELFIN）。该任务的目的是研究从地球上移除高能电子的物理机制。S辐射带通过降水进入高层大气。高能电子（接近光速）是近地空间辐射环境的一部分，对卫星系统和仪器构成危险。辐射的量是高度可变的，特别是在太阳和地磁风暴被称为空间天气。它是由加速过程和损失过程之间的微妙平衡所控制的，目前我们对其中任何一个都没有很好的理解。ELFIN的测量将提供独特的观测证据，以帮助理解背后的物理损失机制。除了对辐射带物理的影响之外，ELFIN旨在证明，在有意义的学生和年轻研究人员参与的低成本任务中，我们对空间环境的理解可以取得重大突破。该项目将成为围绕微型卫星制定跨学科教育方案努力的一部分。ELFIN将被用作数十名机械与航空航天工程和地球与空间科学（ESS）专业的本科生和研究生的教育工具，这些学生要么受雇于该项目，要么获得独立学习学分。作为加州大学洛杉矶分校持续努力的一部分，将向当地K-12学校推广。该项目还建立在与航空航天公司正在进行的立方体卫星开发计划的既定合作基础上。组件将通过分包合同购买给Aerospace公司，并由Aerospace公司指定的参与合作者提供指导。该项目也得到了NASA的部分支持。美国的低成本进入太空计划（LCAS）。ELFIN立方体卫星是专门设计用于提供第一个俯仰角分辨率，高能量分辨率测量的相对论电子通量在损失锥，延伸到高能量至关重要的理解辐射带动力学。它将携带一个高能粒子探测器，测量50-500keV的离子和0.1-5MeV的电子，以及一个磁通门磁强计，该磁强计将位于0.75米可伸缩臂的末端。这两种仪器都是由PI和提议团队为之前的NASA和DOD任务开发的仪器的小型化。将对损耗锥内的电子作为能量和俯角的函数进行测量，并与最近的理论预测进行比较，以确定沉淀是否具有电磁离子回旋波共振散射的特征特征，还是由于其他过程。通过这种方式，该项目旨在提供赤道俯仰角散射的关键测试，作为辐射带电子损失的主要候选波。

This project is to design, develop, operate and analyze the results of a CubeSat mission named Electron Losses and Fields Investigation (ELFIN). The mission is designed to investigate the physical mechanisms responsible for removing high-energy electrons from the Earth?s radiation belts through precipitation into the upper atmosphere. Electrons at very high energy (near the speed of light) are part of the radiation environment in near-Earth space that poses a danger to satellite systems and instruments. The amount of radiation is highly variable especially during solar and geomagnetic storms known as space weather. It is governed by a delicate balance of acceleration and loss processes none of which are well understood at present. ELFIN measurements will provide unique observational evidence to help understand the physics behind the loss mechanisms at play. Beyond its impact on radiation belt physics, ELFIN aims to demonstrate that major breakthroughs in our understanding of the space environment can result from low-cost missions with meaningful student and young researcher participation. The project will form part of an effort to develop an inter-disciplinary program of education surrounding microsatellites. ELFIN will be used as an educational vehicle for dozens of undergraduate and graduate students from Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and Earth and Space Sciences (ESS), either being employed on the project or receiving independent study credit. Outreach to local K-12 schools will be conducted as part of on-going efforts at UCLA. The project also builds on an established collaboration with the Aerospace Corporation on-going CubeSat development program. Components will be purchased through a subcontract to Aerospace, and mentorship will be provided by named participating collaborators at Aerospace. The project is also receiving partial support from NASA?s Low Cost Access to Space (LCAS) program. The ELFIN cubesat is specifically designed to provide the first pitch-angle resolved, high energy-resolution measurements of relativistic electron fluxes in the loss cone, extending to the high energies critical for understanding radiation belt dynamics. It will carry an energetic particle detector, measuring 50-500keV ions and 0.1-5MeV electrons and a flux gate magnetometer, which will be located at the end of a 0.75m extendable boom. Both instruments are miniaturizations of instruments developed by the PI and the proposing team for several previous NASA and DOD missions. The proposed measurements of electrons within the loss cone as a function of energy and pitch-angle will be examined and compared to recent theoretical predictions to determine whether the precipitation bears the characteristic signatures of resonant scattering by electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) waves or is due to other processes. In this way, the project aims to provide a crucial test of equatorial pitch angle scattering by (EMIC) waves as a leading candidate for radiation belt electron losses.