Model Investigations on Electric Discharges over Balloon-Borne Stratospheric VLF Antennas

Miś, Tomasz Aleksander; Modelski, J.; Ciuba, Maciej

doi:10.3390/en15186805

Cited by 2 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…Scientists have also proposed sending flotillas of long‐lived balloons to search for active biology (Hein et al., 2020) or seismic and volcanic activity (Krishnamoorthy & Bowman, 2023; Rossi et al., 2023). When designing aerial platforms, engineers must consider the charging of the balloons themselves, by ions present in the cloud layers, as a potential threat to their missions (e.g., Miś & Modelski, 2022). Is lightning also a threat to long‐duration missions in the clouds of Venus?…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Meteors May Masquerade as Lightning in the Atmosphere of Venus

Blaske,

O'Rourke,

Desch

et al. 2023

JGR Planets

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Lightning in the atmosphere of Venus is either ubiquitous, rare, or non‐existent, depending on how one interprets diverse observations. Quantifying when and where, or even if lightning occurs would provide novel information about Venus’s atmospheric dynamics and chemistry. Lightning is also a potential risk to future missions, which could float in the cloud layers (∼50–70 km above the surface) for up to an Earth‐year. Over decades, spacecraft and ground‐based telescopes have searched for lightning at Venus using many instruments, including magnetometers, radios, and optical cameras. Two optical surveys (from the Akatsuki orbiter and the 61‐inch telescope on Mt. Bigelow, Arizona) observed several flashes at 777 nm (the unresolved triplet emission lines of excited atomic oxygen) that have been attributed to lightning. This conclusion is based, in part, on the statistical unlikelihood of so many meteors producing such energetic flashes, based in turn on the presumption that a low fraction (< 1%) of a meteor’s optical energy is emitted at 777 nm. We use observations of terrestrial meteors and analogue experiments to show that a much higher conversion factor (∼5–10%) should be expected. Therefore, we calculate that smaller, more numerous meteoroids could have caused the observed flashes. Lightning is likely too rare to pose a hazard to missions that pass through or dwell in the clouds of Venus. Likewise, small meteoroids burn up at altitudes of ∼100 km, roughly twice as high above the surface as the clouds, and also would not pose a hazard.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Meteors May Masquerade as Lightning in the Atmosphere of Venus

Blaske,

O'Rourke,

Desch

et al. 2023

JGR Planets

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show abstract

“…In addition, it is feasible to concentrate the discharges in designated areas (spike-like—but soft/pliable—elements of high surface charge density) [ 40 ]. It is also possible to manipulate with the discharge voltages using additional sprayed/powdery substances such as talc [ 41 ]. The discharges may overload the transmitter’s power amplifier (especially in the E6 risk of the lightning strike).…”

Section: Risk Assessmentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A passive protection against this is the management of the coupling of the transmitter to the antenna; an active solution is one similar to the terrestrial longwave and mediumwave radio stations, where automatic overload detectors connected with ferrite core extinguishers provide rapid protection [ 42 ]. However, this solution is too heavy and too dense for a light-balloon mission [ 41 ].…”

Section: Risk Assessmentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Risk Assessment and Experimental Light-Balloon Deployment of a Stratospheric Vertical VLF Transmitter

Miś

Modelski

2023

Sensors

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This paper discusses the risks associated with an aerostat-supported stratospheric (unanchored) balloon mission equipped with a long vertical antenna and a very low frequency radio transmitter. The risks have been grouped into four main types and applicable mitigation methods have been presented to provide a sufficient level of safety and reliability to such a balloon mission. An experimental mission consistent with this analysis, based on the described theoretical VLF propagation approach, has been prepared and launched, and is operating at 14.2 kHz with a vertical antenna of a total length of 400 m and a total payload of max. 4 kg. The maximum altitude reached 29,164 m. The experiment’s signal has been registered in numerous locations in Europe; the results are compared with numerical analysis employing a hypothesis of an apparent transmitting frequency decrease with the rise of the transmitter’s altitude. The numerical analysis explains the behavior of the experimental signal and remains generally consistent with the hypothesis.

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Model Investigations on Electric Discharges over Balloon-Borne Stratospheric VLF Antennas

Cited by 2 publications

References 12 publications

Meteors May Masquerade as Lightning in the Atmosphere of Venus

Meteors May Masquerade as Lightning in the Atmosphere of Venus

Risk Assessment and Experimental Light-Balloon Deployment of a Stratospheric Vertical VLF Transmitter

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