ESA's space weather station Proba-2 tracks stormy sun
(麻豆淫院Org.com) -- Researchers gathered for European Space Weather Week have been presented with the latest results from ESA鈥檚 own space weather station: the Proba-2 microsatellite.
The unpredictably stormy Sun drives space weather: surges of charged particles can damage satellites, impede space-based services and affect terrestrial power networks.
Less than a cubic metre, Proba-2 was launched on 2 November 2009 as a technology demonstrator but is now working as a science mission, having exceeded its two-year design life.
Proba-2 science data are also useful for space weather monitoring: two instruments watch the Sun, with two more studying the Sun鈥檚 influence on Earth鈥檚 topmost ionosphere.
The mission is keeping busy: it has gathered upwards of 400 000 images of the Sun and made almost 20 million in-situ ionospheric observations.
This year鈥檚 European Space Weather Week, taking place in the Palais des Congres in Namur, Belgium, from 28 November to 2 December included presentations by users of Proba-2 data from all over Europe.
鈥淧roba-2 science data are also distributed to scientific teams worldwide, from the US to India,鈥� noted Marie Dominique of the Royal Observatory of Brussels, responsible for Proba-2鈥檚 Sun-watching sensors.
Sampling space
Rather than being trained on the Sun, some 150 million km away, Proba鈥檚 two other main sensors are investigating the immediate vicinity of the microsatellite, circling the poles at an altitude of 700 km.
鈥淣ext year, we plan to release the complete processed archive of our results so far,鈥� said Stepan Stverak, of the Czech Republic鈥檚 Astronomical Institute.
鈥淭his dataset will then be available to the scientific community for statistical study, to help identify how ionospheric plasma can be perturbed by solar and space weather events.鈥�
Results will also be cross-checked with France鈥檚 Demeter satellite, which sought ionospheric disturbance caused by seismic activity 鈥� a potential method of predicting earthquakes.
Proba-2 and Demeter flew in similar orbits before the French satellite ended its mission last year.
New technology taking flight
ESA鈥檚 鈥楶roject for Onboard Autonomy鈥� family of demonstration satellites allows European companies to test new technologies in space.
Proba-2鈥檚 17 technology payloads include: a flight computer built around ESA鈥檚 latest-generation chip (yet to require a single reset), a fibre sensor 鈥榥ervous system鈥� monitoring temperatures and fuel tank pressure, and nitrogen gas generators to repressurise the resistojet thruster used for orbit maintenance 鈥� giving the mission a new lease of life each time they are triggered.
鈥淭he idea behind Proba is to test advanced technologies in a way that the scientific community also finds useful,鈥� remarked Frederic Teston of ESA鈥檚 In-Orbit Demonstration Program.
鈥淕aining the interest of users represents the best proof our technologies work well.鈥�
Proba-2 is designed for maximum autonomy. It is operated by a small team keeping standard office hours, based at ESA鈥檚 ground station in Redu, Belgium.
鈥淲e work with Redu on a very flexible basis,鈥� Ms Dominique added. 鈥淲e can easily react if solar activity suddenly changes 鈥� in a few hours we change the settings of our instruments, or even the pointing direction of the satellite, for instance, to track coronal mass ejections.鈥�
Provided by European Space Agency
