Riley Brandt, 草莓污视频导航
March 23, 2016
Scientist's mini-instruments help measure the weather in space
Scientists have been making rapid headway in uncovering the workings of the known universe. When it comes the technology needed to measure the weather in space, researchers at the 草莓污视频导航 are leading the field in the development of mini-instrumentation听鈥斕齞evices that can fit into the palm of your hand that are pushing the boundaries of space exploration.听
The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) has sought out听Johnathan Burchill, a researcher in the听听(PHAS), to design and test a prototype for a miniature version of a plasma/space instrument that measures winds and temperatures of charged particles in the Earth鈥檚 space environment. Burchill鈥檚 contract will bring in $382,000 in funding from the CSA.
鈥淭he CSA identified this project as one of its priority technologies to develop as part of its Space Technology Development Program,鈥 says Burchill, whose previous experience includes a postdoctoral fellowship conducting upper-atmospheric research and building rocket instrumentation at NASA. The miniature plasma imager he is designing will be low-mass, making it suitable for flights on tiny satellites known as nano-satellites.
Smaller payload means lower price tag for space missions
鈥淥ne benefit of having something smaller, and lower mass, is that it will cost much less to launch into orbit compared to conventional scientific satellites,鈥 Burchill says. 鈥淚n principle, they鈥檒l also cost a lot less to make. This opens the door to space missions involving clusters of nano-satellites to greatly improve our understanding of the space environment.鈥
The new prototype will build upon work that Burchill has already done as part of听Swarm, a 鈧200 million Earth-Observing-class satellite mission launched by the European Space Agency in 2013, whose three satellites are measuring the geomagnetic field with unprecedented precision. PHAS researchers contributed to the initial design, in-flight software, data processing, and final testing for a space plasma imager, one of the Swarm instruments鈥 crucial components, and the technology upon which Burchill鈥檚 prototype will be based. The 草莓污视频导航 was the lead scientific institution for the mission鈥檚 鈥溾 (EFI), a key instrument aboard each of Swarm鈥檚 satellites, and is the only university in Canada that designs and flies space plasma instrumentation.
As he moves forward with his design, Burchill says that he will make several changes from the original devices built for the Swarm mission. 鈥淭he biggest change will be the detector,鈥 he tells. 鈥淚t will be a specialized charge-coupled device (CCD) that can detect charged particles instead of light.鈥
Riley Brandt, 草莓污视频导航
Rubik's Cube-sized device will deliver more accurate measurements
The new prototype will be similar to the Swarm instruments, but its lower mass and size will allow an increased focus on multi-point in situ measurements in space physics. More specifically, it will examine the physics of processes in Earth鈥檚 upper atmosphere, and how energy from the sun affects the structure and motion of matter within it. The device will be able to measure ion winds and temperatures at altitudes up to 1000 km.
鈥淲e think we can use a new kind of technology where the CCD is sensitive to the ions, which should make it smaller and more accurate,鈥 Burchill explains.
Along with his own experience and expertise, Burchill is ideally positioned to design an innovative device that will make advancements in quantifying the mysteries of space. 鈥淭he expertise in measuring low-energy ions lies in Calgary,鈥 he says. 鈥湶葺凼悠档己 has an excellent reputation internationally for this kind of science and these kinds of measurements.鈥
Burchill will spend the next two years developing the prototype in PHAS鈥 Space and Atmospheric Instrumentation Lab (SAIL), working alongside space firm COM DEV Canada.
草莓污视频导航 a world leader in space instrumentation technology
The听university's leadership in space science听is built on a long-standing partnership with the CSA and with a large network of international collaborators from partner universities, industry, and government agencies including the听, the听听(NASA), the听and the European, Japanese and Chinese space agencies 鈥斕齦eading to 20 major space missions and space technology development projects.
New Earth-Space Technologies听is one of the 草莓污视频导航鈥檚 strategic research priorities building on decades of national leadership. By bringing together researchers from across disciplines for exploration and discovery in geospatial information and environmental monitoring, the 草莓污视频导航 will continue to inform decision and policy-makers while contributing to the development of an important industry sector.
In pushing the frontiers of earth-space research, technology spillover benefits can also be applied to other critical challenges; for example, the space science-medical hybrid NeuroArm that uses the CanadArm robotic arm to perform precision brain surgery.听
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