SBIR-STTR Award

As a community, we are at a Tipping Point, where the needs and capabilities of different players have become aligned as follows: the development of small satellites, miniaturized instruments, and electronics is aligned with NASA mission needs, together with computational and algorithmic capabilities to handle large amounts of ionospheric/thermospheric data to produce a mission-applicable product. In this Phase I SBIR proposal for Topic S1.12: Remote Sensing Instrument Technologies for Heliophysics, we describe our research plan to design a CubeSat-compatible instrument for imaging the ionosphere and thermosphere in ultraviolet light. The purpose of this imaging is to derive several key ionospheric environmental parameters (including electron density and ionospheric irregularities) and thermospheric composition (column O/N2). Images of the irregularities or “bubbles” are more useful than a single line measurement (or 1-D cut) through the same bubble feature because an image permits the geographic extent of the irregularity and its motion to be deduced. The proposed instrument, called Multichannel Thermosphere and Ionosphere Photometer Scanner (MTIPS), will allow us to image the ionospheric and column O/N2 densities to gain valuable insights into the solar and magnetospheric forcing of our space environment. The MTIPS design will be flexible in its ability to accomplish the mission science objectives over a range of expected NASA-sponsored LEO CubeSat launch opportunities. The proposed research will establish the feasibility of CubeSats for UV remote sensing and develop a conceptual design of the MTIP payload. Potential NASA Applications (Limit 1500 characters, approximately 150 words): NASA has an interest in the accurate characterization of the ionosphere-thermosphere system for many applications, ranging from spacecraft charging to communications. We expect that the data from MTIPS instruments will provide complementary data to the NASA GOLD and ICON missions. Future NASA missions would also benefit from the development of the MTIP payload, the miniaturization of the imager in this project would be able to be transitioned for future NASA CubeSat and SmallSat missions. Potential Non-NASA Applications (Limit 1500 characters, approximately 150 words): The small size, weight, and power of the proposed MTIPS instrument mean that it could easily fly on CubeSats. MTIPS will obtain useful data from almost any Low Earth Orbit (LEO) mission, ranging from three-axis stabilized to spinning. This versatility makes it attractive to a number of different agencies, including the US Air Force, US Navy, and NSF. Duration: 6

The Multichannel Thermosphere-Ionosphere Photometer Scanner (MTIPS) instrument proposed here is a purpose-built CubeSat scale instrument designed to provide narrowband photometric measurements of excited atomic oxygen and molecular nitrogen species for targeted nightside, dayside, and auroral zone investigations of the thermosphere and ionosphere. MTIPS provides simultaneous high-sensitivity Vacuum Ultra-Violet (VUV) photometer measurements of key atomic oxygen (135.6-nm) and molecular nitrogen Lyman-Birge-Hopfield (LBH) band emissions. MTIPS addresses the recommendation in the Decadal Survey for smaller CubeSat/SmallSat scale space missions by developing a low size, weight and power (SWAP), flight-ready VUV instrument capable of making nightside, dayside, and auroral zone measurements of the ionosphere and thermosphere. MTIPS is an enabling technology for the development of Heliophysics constellation missions, due to its superior performance at a relatively low cost. The MTIPS notional design, comprised of elements with flight heritage, is a dual-channel photometer that implements prior flight technology developments in thin film reflective coatings, compact (CubeSat-scale) electronics packaging, and high heritage photometric detectors. Specifically, MTIPS benefits from prior design and flight of the USAF CubeSat Tiny Ionospheric Photometer (i.e. high sensitivity CsI-based detector, CubeSat-scale high-voltage and readout electronics) and advances in narrowband VUV-coated optics. Proposed here is the execution of a technology maturation plan via a series of rigorous tests and photometric evaluations in relevant thermal/vacuum, launch vibration, and pre-launch humidity environments. In doing so, we will bring the integrated MTIPS prototype to a TRL 6 status at the conclusion of 2 years with sufficient system engineering, safety, and mission assurance documentation to satisfy full readiness for operational mission integration. Potential NASA Applications (Limit 1500 characters, approximately 150 words): MTIPS addresses the NRC 2012 Decadal Strategy for Solar and Space Physics for “small space missions”. MTIPS VUV observations provide future constellations with a low SWaP, low cost sensor for global, multi-point, thermospheric and ionospheric observations of key dayside, auroral, and nightside geophysical regimes. Potential Non-NASA Applications (Limit 1500 characters, approximately 150 words): The key parameters measured by MTIPs provide critical ionospheric, thermospheric and auroral space weather data. The auroral, ionospheric and thermospheric data provided by MTIPS makes it attractive to the US Air Force, US Navy, and the US Space Force. MTIPS obtains useful data from almost any Low Earth Orbit (LEO) mission. MTIPS is highly relevant to planetary exploration, and especially Mars. Duration: 24