Dual segmented Langmuir probe
| Operator | ESA |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer |
Astronomical Institute Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic |
| Instrument Type | Langmuir probe |
| Function | Plasma research |
| Website | terezka |
| Host Spacecraft | |
| Spacecraft | Proba-2 |
| Operator | ESA |
| Launch date | 2 November, 01:50:51 UTC |
| Rocket | Rokot/Briz-KM |
| Launch Site | Plesetsk 133/3 |
| COSPAR ID | 2009-059B |
| Orbit | Low Earth |
Dual Segmented Langmuir Probe (DSLP) is an instrument developed primarily by Czech researchers and engineers to study the magnetospheric background plasma flown on board the spacecraft of the European Space Agency (ESA) Proba 2. Data acquired by DSLP will be used to reach these specific scientific goals:
Contrary to classical Langmuir probes, the new DSLP concept of data acquisition from the independent segments will enable to study also plasma characteristics in different directions. This should provide for example estimations of plasma flow velocity. Typically in the presence of magnetic field, electron temperatures are observed to be slightly different in the direction parallel and perpendicular to the magnetic field lines. This temperature anisotropy should be measured with DSLP by way of directional data acquisition.
Classical theories for LPs are typically developed for plasmas in a thermodynamic equilibrium, that is for particle populations possessing Maxwellian velocity distribution functions. However, a thermodynamic equilibrium and thus a Maxwellian distribution is an idealized case while the real distribution in many plasma environments often exhibits various non-Maxwellian features, like loss-cone or flat-top distributions or high-energy tails. We intend to adapt the DSLP theoretical model in order to see whether such features exist also in ionospheric plasmas.
The DSLP instrument consists of two Langmuir probes, electronics and small data processing unit. DSLP shares some interface, power and processing resources with TPMU experiment. DSLP has been developed on the basis of its predecessor ISL (Instrument Sonde de Langmuir), flown on the Demeter mission of CNES.
DSLP was developed by the consortium of Astronomical Institute and Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Prague, Czech Republic, Research and Scientific Support Department (RSSD) ESA ESTEC, Noordwijk, The Netherlands, Czech Space Research Centre (CSRC), Brno Czech Republic, and SPRINX Systems, Prague, Czech Republic.
...
Wikipedia