Development of space plasma analyzers and a space plasma chamber for university-based small satellite missions

In this presentation, three examples on the development of scientific instruments and test facilities including the Space Plasma Operation Chamber (SPOC, hereafter), Mesosphere-Ionosphere Plasma Exploration Complex (MIPEX, hereafter) and the Solar Extreme Ultraviolet Probe (SEUVP, hereafter) will be reported. For small satellite platforms, due to constraints of power consumption, space and weight, and a lack of conductive surface area, a re-design of conventional instruments or systems is usually needed. It is also essential to operate the full system in an analogous environment before flight to study possible coupling effects between the instruments, the vehicle and the space plasma. The SPOC was constructed for these purposes and has been applied on the development and testing of the SEUVP and MIPEX. The SEUVP is a compact instrument that measures SEUV intensities in the ionosphere by collecting SEUV-induced photoelectric currents on the probe. It was launched into orbit in 2017 onboard the Phoenix, a 2U cubesat developed at NCKU. MIPEX is a novel space plasma analyzer that measures plasma density, ion and electron temperature and ion drifts in the ionosphere. It was originally designed for small satellite missions and will be firstly launched onboard a sounding rocket for ionospheric studies in 2020. The design concepts, development processes, project managements and lessons learned during collaborations among students, engineers and outsourcing companies in these examples will be presented.