FUV and EUV Imaging of the Thermosphere and Ionosphere from GEO

K. Wood and K. Dymond, NRL

Enabling and Enhancing Technology Developments:

• High performance reflective filters for UV• High performance microchannel-plate based detector

systems• Newly developed algorithms for inverting the UV radiances to

produce neutral and ion densities• Low cost, frequent access to GEO (presently limited to

finding missions of opportunity, which are chiefly on communications satellites)

TIGRIST:

PI: P. Kintner; Institutions: Cornell, NRL, UC Berkeley

*Number of Spacecraft: 1

*Location: Geosynchronous

*Attitude Control: 3-axis stabilized

*Number of Instruments: 1 or 2

*Type of Instrument(s 2): UV Imagers, mostly TRL9

*Payload Resources Required: 95 kg, offset pointing

Measurement Strategy:

FUV/EUV Imagery at 10 km resolution (best case)

Science Objectives: • What is the prompt global-scale ionospheric response to

geomagnetic storms? • What are the extended responses of the thermosphere and

the global scale ionosphere to geomagnetic storms? • How do traveling ionospheric disturbances develop and

propagate? • What affects the day to day variability of the equatorial

ionosphere? • What are the temporal and spatial properties of high

latitude upflows and outflows?

Associated RFAs:• F2. Understand the plasma processes that accelerate and transport

particles (Q4) • F3. Understand the role of plasma and neutral interactions in nonlinear

coupling of regions throughout the solar system (Q1,2,&3)• F3,Q3. How do the magnetosphere and the ionosphere-thermosphere

systems interact with each other? • H2. Determine changes in the Earth’s magnetosphere, ionosphere, and

upper atmosphere to enable specification, prediction, and mitigation of their effects (Q1&3)

• H3. Understand the role of the Sun as an energy source to Earth’s atmosphere and, in particular, the role of solar variability in driving change (Q1&2)

• J4. Understand and characterize the space weather effects on and within planetary environments to minimize risk in exploration activities (Q3)