Canary: ion spectroscopy for ionospheric sensing

Abstract

The Canary instrument is a miniature electrostatic analyzer designed to detect positively charged ions in the energy range 0-1500 eV. The Canary concept began with the development of a Micro-Electro-Mechanical (MEMS) Flat Plasma Spectrometer (FlaPS), which, integrated with electronics onto FalconSAT-3, reduced the size and mass of an ion plasma spectrometer to about 10x10x10 cm 3 and 250 g. The successor to FlaPS was the Wafer Integrated Spectrometer (WISPERS), expanding the same instrument to seven sensors all with uniquely optimized energy ranges and azimuth/elevation look angles. WISPERS is due to fly on the USAF Academy's FalconSAT-5 satellite scheduled for launch in Spring 2010. FlaPS and WISPERS created a paradigm shift in the use of such instruments in a highly capable but small, low power package. The third generation, Canary (named after the "canary in the coal mine" -an earlier technology used to provide low-cost, effective warning of danger to operators), will be flown on the International Space Station (ISS) and used to investigate the interaction of approaching spacecraft with the background plasma environment around the ISS.

A highly miniaturized electron and ion energy spectrometer prototype for the rapid analysis of space plasmas

“…MEMS techniques allow for the production of very small scale structures with very high accuracy, albeit limited to fairly simple shapes. MEMS components have found various applications in space 13,14 , including within low-energy plasma spectrometers [15][16][17][18] . Instruments of this kind have used novel, but unfocussed, electrode geometries, replicated multiple times to achieve acceptable sensitivities.…”

Analysis and observation of spacecraft plume/ionosphere interactions during maneuvers of the space shuttle

“…The amplification gain is expressed as the elementary charge multiplication for each ion impacting the MCP. These parameters aid in defining the peak energy transmitted through each electrode pair as well as the corresponding energy resolution achieved by each sensor [Feldmesser et al, 2010]. It should be noted that the sensitivity of the ESA instrument is a complex function of many parameters, including the details of the collisional charge exchange processes, the incoming ion plume morphology and ion temperature, local electromagnetic fields, and ISS frame charging in the vicinity of the instrument.…”

“…The The Canary instrument used in this study is a small electrostatic analyzer configured for the detection of positively charged ions in the energy range (0-1100 eV) [Feldmesser et al, 2010]. When exposed to an incident ion flux, the instrument sensors output the detected total current due to selective ion impact with the sensor surface.…”