The ESCAPE M5 mission: first-time systematic study of Thermosphere/Exosphere/Ionosphere for various solar and solar wind conditions

0486015 - ÚFA 2018 BE eng A - Abstract
Dandouras, I. - Yamauchi, M. - Rème, H. - De Keyser, J. - Marghitu, O. - Fazakerley, A. - Grison, Benjamin - Kistler, L. - Milillo, A. - Nakamura, R. - Paschalidis, N. - Paschalis, A. - Pinçon, J.-L. - Sakanoi, T. - Wieser, M. - Wurz, P. - Yoshikawa, I. - Häggström, I. - Liemohn, M. - Tian, F. - Daglis, I.
The ESCAPE M5 mission: first-time systematic study of Thermosphere/Exosphere/Ionosphere for various solar and solar wind conditions.
14th European Space Weather Week. Ostend: STCE, 2017.
[European Space Weather Week /14./. 27.11.2017-01.12.2017, Ostend]
Institutional support: RVO:68378289
Keywords : ionosphere * magnetosphere * EISCAT_3D observations * ESCAPE mission
Subject RIV: DG - Athmosphere Sciences, Meteorology
http://www.stce.be/esww14/program/session_details.php?nr=11#

ESCAPE is a mission proposed in response to the ESA-M5 call that will quantitatively estimate the amount of escape of the major atmospheric components (nitrogen and oxygen), as neutral and ionised species, escaping from the Earth as a magnetised planet. The spatial distribution and temporal variability of the flux of these elements and their isotopic composition will be for the first time systematically investigated in an extended altitude range, from the exobase/upper ionosphere (500 km altitude) up to the magnetosphere. The goal is to understand the importance of each escape mechanism, its dependence on solar and geomagnetic activity, and to infer the history of the Earth's atmosphere over a long (geological scale) time period. Since the solar EUV and solar wind conditions during solar maximum at present are comparable to the solar minimum conditions 1-2 billion years ago, the mission naturally aims at space weather effects on the upper thermosphere, exosphere, and upper ionosphere. The result will be used as a reference to understand the atmospheric/ionospheric evolution of magnetised planets. To achieve this goal, a slowly spinning spacecraft is proposed equipped with a suite of instruments developed and supplied by an international consortium. These instruments will detect the upper atmosphere and magnetosphere escaping populations by a combination of in-situ measurements and of remote-sensing observations. The measurement target includes densities and temperatures of cold ions/electrons and neutrals in the thermosphere/exosphere/ionosphere, which can directly be compared with the EISCAT_3D observations. The EISCAT_3D, that will be ready by early 2020's, will help distinguishing temporal and spatial structures during spacecraft conjugacies through its continuous monitoring of a 3D-volume of 500 km diameter at ~500 km altitude.
Permanent Link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0280907