AuroraMag: Twin Explorer of Asymmetry in Aurora and Solar Wind-Magnetosphere Coupling

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Main Authors: Bhaskar, Ankush, Pradeep, Jayadev, Narendranath, Shyama, Nandy, Dibyendu, Vaidya, Bhargav, Hari, Priyadarshan, Thampi, Smitha V., Yadav, Vipin K., Vichare, Geeta, Raghav, Anil, Chakrabarty, Dibyendu, Thampi, R. Satheesh, Pant, Tarun Kumar
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
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author Bhaskar, Ankush
Pradeep, Jayadev
Narendranath, Shyama
Nandy, Dibyendu
Vaidya, Bhargav
Hari, Priyadarshan
Thampi, Smitha V.
Yadav, Vipin K.
Vichare, Geeta
Raghav, Anil
Chakrabarty, Dibyendu
Thampi, R. Satheesh
Pant, Tarun Kumar
author_facet Bhaskar, Ankush
Pradeep, Jayadev
Narendranath, Shyama
Nandy, Dibyendu
Vaidya, Bhargav
Hari, Priyadarshan
Thampi, Smitha V.
Yadav, Vipin K.
Vichare, Geeta
Raghav, Anil
Chakrabarty, Dibyendu
Thampi, R. Satheesh
Pant, Tarun Kumar
contents In the present-day context, small satellites and their constellations consisting of varying sizes (nano, micro, pico satellites) are being favored for remote sensing and in situ probing of the heliosphere and terrestrial magnetosphere-ionosphere system. We introduce a mission concept aimed at concurrently observing Earth's northern and southern auroral ovals while conducting in situ measurements of particles, fields, and temperature. The mission concept consists of two small satellites, each having an identical auroral X-ray imager, an in situ particle detector, a magnetometer pair, and an electron temperature analyzer onboard in an elliptical polar orbit (400X1000 km ). This mission would assist the space weather community in primarily answering important questions about the formation, morphology, and hemispherical asymmetries that we observe in the X-ray aurora, the fluxes of precipitating particles, Solar Energetic Particles, currents, and cusp dynamics. Once realized, this would be the first dedicated twin spacecraft mission of such kind to simultaneously study hemispheric asymmetries of solar-wind magnetosphere coupling. This study reveals the intricacies of the mission concept, encompassing orbital details, potential payloads, and its underlying scientific objectives. By leveraging the capabilities of small satellites, this mission concept is poised to make significant contributions to space weather monitoring and research.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2402_14325
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle AuroraMag: Twin Explorer of Asymmetry in Aurora and Solar Wind-Magnetosphere Coupling
Bhaskar, Ankush
Pradeep, Jayadev
Narendranath, Shyama
Nandy, Dibyendu
Vaidya, Bhargav
Hari, Priyadarshan
Thampi, Smitha V.
Yadav, Vipin K.
Vichare, Geeta
Raghav, Anil
Chakrabarty, Dibyendu
Thampi, R. Satheesh
Pant, Tarun Kumar
Space Physics
In the present-day context, small satellites and their constellations consisting of varying sizes (nano, micro, pico satellites) are being favored for remote sensing and in situ probing of the heliosphere and terrestrial magnetosphere-ionosphere system. We introduce a mission concept aimed at concurrently observing Earth's northern and southern auroral ovals while conducting in situ measurements of particles, fields, and temperature. The mission concept consists of two small satellites, each having an identical auroral X-ray imager, an in situ particle detector, a magnetometer pair, and an electron temperature analyzer onboard in an elliptical polar orbit (400X1000 km ). This mission would assist the space weather community in primarily answering important questions about the formation, morphology, and hemispherical asymmetries that we observe in the X-ray aurora, the fluxes of precipitating particles, Solar Energetic Particles, currents, and cusp dynamics. Once realized, this would be the first dedicated twin spacecraft mission of such kind to simultaneously study hemispheric asymmetries of solar-wind magnetosphere coupling. This study reveals the intricacies of the mission concept, encompassing orbital details, potential payloads, and its underlying scientific objectives. By leveraging the capabilities of small satellites, this mission concept is poised to make significant contributions to space weather monitoring and research.
title AuroraMag: Twin Explorer of Asymmetry in Aurora and Solar Wind-Magnetosphere Coupling
topic Space Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2402.14325