Trapped Proton Fluxes Estimation Inside the South Atlantic Anomaly Using the NASA AE9/AP9/SPM Radiation Models along the China Seismo-Electromagnetic Satellite Orbit

Abstract

The radiation belts in the Earth’s magnetosphere pose a hazard to satellite systems and spacecraft missions (both manned and unmanned), heavily affecting payload design and resources, thus resulting in an impact on the overall mission performance and final costs. The NASA AE9/AP9/SPM radiation models for energetic electrons, protons, and plasma provide useful information on the near-Earth environment, but they are still incomplete as to some features and, for some energy ranges, their predictions are not based on a statistically sufficient sample of direct measurements. Therefore, it is of the upmost importance to provide new data and direct measurements to improve their output. In this work, the AP9 model is applied to the China Seismo-Electromagnetic Satellite (CSES-01) orbit to estimate the flux of energetic protons over the South Atlantic Anomaly during a short testing period of one day, 1 January 2021. Moreover, a preliminary comparison with proton data obtained from the High-Energy Particle Detector (HEPD) on board CSES-01 is carried out. This estimation will serve as the starting ground for a forthcoming complete data analysis, enabling extensive testing and validation of current theoretical and empirical models.

New results on protons inside the South Atlantic Anomaly, at energies between 40 and 250 MeV in the period 2018–2020, from the CSES-01 satellite mission

“…In addition, it is well known that the radiation belts in the Earth's magnetosphere pose a hazard to human spaceflights and satellite systems, massively affecting design and resources for spacecraft and payloads. For this reason, the scientific community has been considerably involved in modeling the space radiation environment [12,13]. The NASA AE9/AP9 set of models for electrons and protons, respectively, is the most recent effort in describing the near Earth radiation environment.…”

“…The NASA AE9/AP9 set of models for electrons and protons, respectively, is the most recent effort in describing the near Earth radiation environment. These models are based on numerous datasets, obtained from sensors on board various satellites and processed to create maps of the particle fluxes with different estimated uncertainties, from both dedicated and not-dedicated missions and from space weather variability [13,14]. However, such models are incomplete since their predictions are not based on a statistically sufficient sample of direct measurements [15].…”

“…Consequently, reliable sets of data from in-flight instruments, covering long periods of time, are crucial to improve their output and accuracy. The High-Energy Particle Detector (HEPD), orbiting on board the China Seismo-Electromagnetic Satellite CSES-01, with a foreseen lifetime of 5þ years, is now providing precise data that enables testing and validation of the aforementioned models [13].…”