Observations and analysis of phase scintillation of spacecraft signal on the interplanetary plasma

Calvés, Guifre Molera; Pogrebenko, S. V.; Cimò, G.; Duev, Dmitry A.; Bocanegra-Bahamón, Tatiana; Wagner, Jan; Kallunki, J.; Vicente, P. de; Kronschnabl, Gerhard; Haas, Rüdiger; Quick, J.; Maccaferri, G.; Colucci, G.; Wang, W. H.; Yang, Wenjun; Hao, Longfei

doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201322925

Cited by 24 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…These observations were carried out under different weather conditions: the first day under heavy clouds, the second with strong wind and rain, and the last with clear sky. As described in Molera Calvés et al (), the atmospheric conditions have little influence on the results. The results indicated that the worst measurement in terms of detection accuracy of the spacecraft signal was achieved with clear sky, on 6 April 2015.…”

Section: Methods and Observationsmentioning

confidence: 62%

“…The analysis of spacecraft radio signals allows one to determine the variation of the phase of a radio signal that is related to the variations in the electron density ( δ n e ) (see more in section 2.2). In Molera Calvés et al (), we presented a study based on observations of Venus Express with VLBI radio telescopes. In that paper we established, as stated in previous studies (Coles et al, ; Woo et al, , ), that the phase scintillation index ( σ Sc ) is approximately proportional to the interplanetary plasma TEC

TEC \propto σ_{Sc},

where σ Sc is a measure of the level of fluctuations in the phase of the spacecraft signal caused by the propagation in a turbulent media.…”

Section: Methods and Observationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The Doppler residuals, phase fluctuations, and spectral signature statistics for these observations are summarized in Table . For the estimates, we used the f obs of MEX that is equal to 8.421 GHz, an integration time of 5 min, and the value of K s empirically found by spacecraft observations collected from MEX data (from 2014 to 2016) (Molera Calvés et al, ). The K s factor from over 450 observations on MEX is approximately 2010 TECU/rad.…”

Section: Methods and Observationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…They are based on several hundreds of observations conducted over 8 years. Thus, they cover all conditions of slow and fast winds, as well as a wide range of solar elongations and Earthspacecraft distances (Molera Calvés et al, 2014). Continuing in equation (3), f obs is the communication frequency of the spacecraft (GHz), which usually lies between 8.30 and 8.50 GHz, is the integration time [s] (typically is 300 s), m is the spectral index (based on the observations by Molera Calvés et al…”

Section: Theorymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Analysis of an Interplanetary Coronal Mass Ejection by a Spacecraft Radio Signal: A Case Study

et al. 2017

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Tracking radio communication signals from planetary spacecraft with ground‐based telescopes offers the possibility to study the electron density and the interplanetary scintillation of the solar wind. Observations of the telemetry link of planetary spacecraft have been conducted regularly with ground antennae from the European Very Long Baseline Interferometry Network, aiming to study the propagation of radio signals in the solar wind at different solar elongations and distances from the Sun. We have analyzed the Mars Express spacecraft radio signal phase fluctuations while, based on a 3‐D heliosphere plasma simulation, an interplanetary coronal mass ejection (ICME) crossed the radio path during one of our observations on 6 April 2015. Our measurements showed that the phase scintillation indices increased by a factor of 4 during the passage of the ICME. The method presented here confirms that the phase scintillation technique based on spacecraft signals provides information of the properties and propagation of the ICMEs in the heliosphere.

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Section: Methods and Observationsmentioning

confidence: 62%

TEC \propto σ_{Sc},

where σ Sc is a measure of the level of fluctuations in the phase of the spacecraft signal caused by the propagation in a turbulent media.…”

Section: Methods and Observationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methods and Observationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Theorymentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Analysis of an Interplanetary Coronal Mass Ejection by a Spacecraft Radio Signal: A Case Study

et al. 2017

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“…This is achieved by performing precise Doppler tracking of the spacecraft carrier signal and near-field VLBI observations in phase-referencing mode (Duev et al 2012(Duev et al , 2016Bocanegra-Bahamón et al 2018). PRIDE is suitable for various applications in planetary and space science, such as determination of planetary ephemerides (Dirkx et al 2017), characterization of the interplanetary plasma (Molera et al 2014) and detection of interplanetary coronal mass ejection (ICME) (Molera et al 2017). In this work we present another application: the characterization of planetary atmospheres and/or ionospheres by means of radio occultation observations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Venus Express radio occultation observed by PRIDE

Bocanegra-Bahamón

Calvés

Gurvits

et al. 2019

A&A

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Context. Radio occultation is a technique used to study planetary atmospheres by means of the refraction and absorption of a spacecraft carrier signal through the atmosphere of the celestial body of interest, as detected from a ground station on Earth. This technique is usually employed by the deep space tracking and communication facilities (e.g., NASA's Deep Space Network (DSN), ESA's Estrack). Aims. We want to characterize the capabilities of the Planetary Radio Interferometry and Doppler Experiment (PRIDE) technique for radio occultation experiments, using radio telescopes equipped with Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) instrumentation. Methods. We conducted a test with ESA's Venus Express (VEX), to evaluate the performance of the PRIDE technique for this particular application. We explain in detail the data processing pipeline of radio occultation experiments with PRIDE, based on the collection of so-called open-loop Doppler data with VLBI stations, and perform an error propagation analysis of the technique. Results. With the VEX test case and the corresponding error analysis, we have demonstrated that the PRIDE setup and processing pipeline is suited for radio occultation experiments of planetary bodies. The noise budget of the open-loop Doppler data collected with PRIDE indicated that the uncertainties in the derived density and temperature profiles remain within the range of uncertainties reported in previous Venus' studies. Open-loop Doppler data can probe deeper layers of thick atmospheres, such as that of Venus, when compared to closed-loop Doppler data. Furthermore, PRIDE through the VLBI networks around the world, provides a wide coverage and range of large antenna dishes, that can be used for this type of experiments.

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Laser and radio tracking for planetary science missions—a comparison

Dirkx

Procházka

Bauer

et al. 2018

J Geod

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At present, tracking data for planetary missions largely consists of radio observables: range-rate (Doppler), range and angular position (VLBI/ DOR). Future planetary missions may use Interplanetary Laser Ranging (ILR) as a tracking observable. Two-way ILR will provide range data that are about 2 orders of magnitude more accurate than radio-based range data. ILR does not produce Doppler data, however. In this article, we compare the relative strength of radio Doppler and laser range data for the retrieval of parameters of interest in planetary missions, to clarify and quantify the science case of ILR, with a focus on geodetic observables. We first provide an overview of the near-term attainable quality of ILR, in terms of both the realization of the observable and the models used to process the measurements. Subsequently, we analyse the sensitivity of radio Doppler and laser range measurements in representative mission scenarios for parameters of interest. We use both an analytical approximation and numerical analyses of the relative sensitivity of ILR and radio Doppler observables for more general cases. We show that mm-precise range normal points are feasible for ILR, but mm-level accuracy and stability in the full analysis chain are unlikely to be attained, due to a combination of instrumental and model errors. We find that ILR has the potential for superior performance in observing signatures in the data with a characteristic period of greater than 0.33-1.65 hours (assuming 2-10 mm uncertainty for range and 10 µm/s at 60 s for Doppler). This indicates that Doppler tracking will typically remain the method of choice for gravity field determination and spacecraft orbit determination in planetary missions. ILR data will be able to supplement the orbiter tracking data used for the estimation of parameters with a once-per-orbit signal. Laser ranging data, however, are shown to have a significant advantage for the retrieval of rotational and tidal characteristics from landers. Similarly, laser ranging data will be superior for the construction of planetary ephemerides and the improvement of solar system tests of gravitation, both for orbiter and for lander missions.

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Observations and analysis of phase scintillation of spacecraft signal on the interplanetary plasma

Cited by 24 publications

References 23 publications

Analysis of an Interplanetary Coronal Mass Ejection by a Spacecraft Radio Signal: A Case Study

Analysis of an Interplanetary Coronal Mass Ejection by a Spacecraft Radio Signal: A Case Study

Venus Express radio occultation observed by PRIDE

Laser and radio tracking for planetary science missions—a comparison

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