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Main Authors: Ulrich, Rachel, Moran, Kelly R., Potter, Ky, Castro, Lauren A., Wilson, Gabriel R., Maldonado, Carlos
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
Subjects:
Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.02706
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_version_ 1866911524045455360
author Ulrich, Rachel
Moran, Kelly R.
Potter, Ky
Castro, Lauren A.
Wilson, Gabriel R.
Maldonado, Carlos
author_facet Ulrich, Rachel
Moran, Kelly R.
Potter, Ky
Castro, Lauren A.
Wilson, Gabriel R.
Maldonado, Carlos
contents The Electric Propulsion Electrostatic Analyzer Experiment (ÈPÈE) is a compact ion energy bandpass filter deployed on the International Space Station (ISS) in March 2023 and providing continuous measurements through April 2024. This period coincides with the Solar Cycle 25 maximum, capturing unique observations of solar activity extremes in the mid- to low-latitude regions of the topside ionosphere. From these in situ spectra we derive plasma parameters that inform space-weather impacts on satellite navigation and radio communication. We present a statistical processing pipeline for ÈPÈE that (i) estimates the instrument noise floor, (ii) accounts for irregular temporal sampling, and (iii) extracts ionospheric signals. Rather than discarding noisy data, the method learns a baseline noise model and fits the measurement surface using a scaled Vecchia Gaussian process approximation, recovering values typically rejected by thresholding. The resulting products increase data coverage and enable noise-assisted monitoring of ionospheric variability.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2602_02706
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Ionospheric Observations from the ISS: Overcoming Noise Challenges in Signal Extraction
Ulrich, Rachel
Moran, Kelly R.
Potter, Ky
Castro, Lauren A.
Wilson, Gabriel R.
Maldonado, Carlos
Space Physics
Applications
The Electric Propulsion Electrostatic Analyzer Experiment (ÈPÈE) is a compact ion energy bandpass filter deployed on the International Space Station (ISS) in March 2023 and providing continuous measurements through April 2024. This period coincides with the Solar Cycle 25 maximum, capturing unique observations of solar activity extremes in the mid- to low-latitude regions of the topside ionosphere. From these in situ spectra we derive plasma parameters that inform space-weather impacts on satellite navigation and radio communication. We present a statistical processing pipeline for ÈPÈE that (i) estimates the instrument noise floor, (ii) accounts for irregular temporal sampling, and (iii) extracts ionospheric signals. Rather than discarding noisy data, the method learns a baseline noise model and fits the measurement surface using a scaled Vecchia Gaussian process approximation, recovering values typically rejected by thresholding. The resulting products increase data coverage and enable noise-assisted monitoring of ionospheric variability.
title Ionospheric Observations from the ISS: Overcoming Noise Challenges in Signal Extraction
topic Space Physics
Applications
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.02706