Resonance is a Russian space mission consisting of four identical spacecraft in specific Earth orbits, within the same magnetic flux tube for a certain period of time. The launch is scheduled for 2015.
The aim of the mission is the investigation of wave-particle interactions and plasma dynamics in the inner magnetosphere of Earth, with the focus on phenomena occurring along the same field line and within the very same flux tube of the Earth's magnetic field. Amongst a variety of instruments and probes several low- and high-frequency electric sensors will be onboard which can be used for simultaneous remote sensing and in-situ measurements.
IWF Graz has performed dedicated analyses of electrical field sensors as planned to be flown on the Resonance satellites. In the course of the project the reception properties of the antennas, which are supposed to measure the non-thermal radio emissions generated from magnetospheric processes, were analysed with a specific focus on the high-frequency electric sensors. For that purpose experimental and numerical methods were applied.
The experimental method, called rheometry, is essentially an electrolytic tank measurement, where a down-scaled spacecraft model is immersed in the electromagnetic medium (water) with corresponding measurements of voltages at the antennas. The numerical method consists of a numerical solution of the underlying field equations by means of developed computer programs. The final goal of the project is to provide information, in particular on the sensitivity of different electric sensors, necessary to make the decision on the final sensor configuration. Additionally, the evaluation and interpretation of the electric field observations will benefit from the antenna parameters enabling a correct interpretation of the data obtained by the calibrated radio antennas on-board of Resonance.
Further information on the Resonance mission is found at the Russian Space Research Institute IKI.
|
