MinXSS-2 CubeSat mission overview: Improvements from the successful MinXSS-1 mission

Mason, James Paul; Woods, Thomas N.; Chamberlin, Phillip C.; Jones, A. R.; Kohnert, Rick; Schwab, Bennet; Sewell, Robert; Caspi, Amir; Moore, Christopher S.; Palo, S. E.; Solomon, S. C.; Warren, H. P.

doi:10.1016/j.asr.2019.02.011

Cited by 30 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…The first MinXSS CubeSat was deployed from the ISS in 2016 and operated for 1 year, as planned. The follow-on MinXSS-2 (Mason et al, 2020) was intended to have a 5-year lifetime after launch in 2018, but it failed within the first month.…”

Section: Soft X-ray Instrumentationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Future Prospects for Solar EUV and Soft X-Ray Spectroscopy Missions

Young

2021

Front. Astron. Space Sci.

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Future prospects for solar spectroscopy missions operating in the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) and soft X-ray (SXR) wavelength ranges, 1.2–1,600 Å, are discussed. NASA is the major funder of Solar Physics missions, and brief summaries of the opportunities for mission development under NASA are given. Upcoming major solar missions from other nations are also described. The methods of observing the Sun in the two wavelength ranges are summarized with a discussion of spectrometer types, imaging techniques and detector options. The major spectral features in the EUV and SXR regions are identified, and then the upcoming instruments and concepts are summarized. The instruments range from large spectrometers on dedicated missions, to tiny, low-cost CubeSats launched through rideshare opportunities.

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Section: Soft X-ray Instrumentationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Future Prospects for Solar EUV and Soft X-Ray Spectroscopy Missions

Young

2021

Front. Astron. Space Sci.

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“…This XPS L4 model is what is used as the base measurements in the FISM2 0-to 6-nm range. The reference spectra used in the XPS L4 algorithm are being updated based on the EVE and Miniature X-ray Solar Spectrometer (MinXSS) (Mason et al, 2016(Mason et al, , 2020 CubeSat observations and once released will be included into FISM2.…”

Section: The Xpsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Flare Irradiance Spectral Model‐Version 2 (FISM2)

et al. 2020

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The Flare Irradiance Spectral Model (FISM) is an important tool for estimating solar variability for a myriad of space weather research studies and applications, and FISM Version 2 (FISM2) recently was released. FISM2 is an empirical model of the solar ultraviolet irradiance created to fill spectral and temporal gaps in the satellite observations. FISM2 estimates solar ultraviolet irradiance variations due to the solar cycle, solar rotations, and solar flares. The major improvement provided by FISM2 is that it is based on multiple new, more accurate instruments that have now captured almost a full solar cycle and thousands of flares, drastically improving the accuracy of the modeled FISM2 solar irradiance spectra. Specifically, these new instruments are SDO EVE, SORCE XPS, and SORCE SOLSTICE. FISM2 is also improved to 0.1 nm spectral bins across the same 0-190 nm spectral range, and is already being used in research to estimate space weather changes due to solar irradiance variability in planetary thermospheres and ionospheres.

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“…Gamma-ray CubeSat missions are described and discussed in Section IV of this book. There have also been several solar X-ray missions based on CubeSats [4,5]; they are not included in this chapter. HaloSat performed an all-sky survey of oxygen line emission in the soft Xray band to attempt to better understand the distribution of hot plasma in the Milky Way halo [6].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The HaloSat and PolarLight CubeSat Missions for X-ray Astrophysics

Feng¹,

Kaaret²

2022

Preprint

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Astronomical observations in the X-ray band are subject to atmospheric attenuation and have to be performed in the space. CubeSats offer a cost effective means for space-based X-ray astrophysics but allow only limited mass and volume. In this article, we describe two successful CubeSat-based missions, HaloSat and PolarLight, both sensitive in the keV energy range. HaloSat was a 6U CubeSat equipped with silicon drift detectors. It conducted an all-sky survey of oxygen line emission and revealed the clumpy nature of the circumgalactic medium surrounding the Milky Way. PolarLight is a dedicated X-ray polarimeter performing photoelectron tracking using a gas pixel detector in a 1U payload. It observed the brightest X-ray objects and helped constrain their magnetic field or accretion geometry. Onorbit operation of both missions for multiple years demonstrates the capability of CubeSats as an effective astronomical platforms. The rapid time scales for development and construction of the missions makes them particularly attractive for student training.

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MinXSS-2 CubeSat mission overview: Improvements from the successful MinXSS-1 mission

Cited by 30 publications

References 12 publications

Future Prospects for Solar EUV and Soft X-Ray Spectroscopy Missions

Future Prospects for Solar EUV and Soft X-Ray Spectroscopy Missions

The Flare Irradiance Spectral Model‐Version 2 (FISM2)

The HaloSat and PolarLight CubeSat Missions for X-ray Astrophysics

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