Observations and Validation of Plasma Density, Temperature, and Abundance From a Langmuir Probe Onboard the International Space Station

Abstract

FPMU is a suite of four plasma diagnostic instruments that include: (a) a gold-surfaced spherical floating potential probe (FPP) that measures the ISS spacecraft-charging between E  180 V at 128 Hz sample rate, (b)

Climatology of Deep O+ Dropouts in the Night‐Time F‐Region in Solar Minimum Measured by a Langmuir Probe Onboard the International Space Station

“…Thus, the dropouts in O + densities are not indicative of the presence or absence of dawn density depletions as reported from the C/NOFS and DMSP satellites. These O + dropouts at F-region altitudes were briefly discussed in Debchoudhury et al (2021), but their occurrence is investigated in a greater detail in this paper. In particular, we attempt to investigate the broad climatology of these O + dropouts over the days for which FPMU was operational in the minimum of Solar Cycle 24 spanning the years 2018 and 2019.…”

“…The data from the FPMU over the years 2018 and 2019 show that the recorded plasma densities were lower, and the measured electron temperatures were higher compared to the predictions by the IRI2016 model. The algorithm used to derive these parameters has been discussed in detail by Debchoudhury et al (2021). In the same paper, the authors detail the process of extracting ion composition information from the ion-saturation region of the WLP.…”

“…The algorithm used to derive these parameters has been discussed in detail by Debchoudhury et al. (2021). In the same paper, the authors detail the process of extracting ion composition information from the ion‐saturation region of the WLP.…”

“…Recently Debchoudhury et al. (2021) re‐analyzed the WLP data, ranging from 2006 to 2020, to extract the relative split of the heavier O + to lighter H + ions in the topside ionosphere. The resulting composition data showed rapid drops of O + percentage in a number of orbits during the most recent solar minimum of Solar Cycle 24 in the years 2018 and 2019, which we now explore further in this paper.…”

Observations of Night‐Time Equatorial Ionosphere Structure With the FPMU on Board the International Space Station

“…One study utilized the ISS FPMU data to examine the morning overshoot of electron temperature (Yang et al., 2019). A few previous studies have discussed the ISS FPMU measurements with a focus on data processing and data validation (Barjatya et al., 2009; Coffey et al., 2008; Debchoudhury et al., 2021). There have also been studies published using the ISS FPMU to study spacecraft charging and hazard assessment, the original purpose of the instrument (Hartman et al., 2019; Willis et al., 2017; Wright et al., 2008).…”