Irad program1/12/2024 While the Endurance mission was under development, the team received additional funding from NASA Goddard’s IRAD program to build and fly a full engineering DESA test unit on the Dyanmo-2 sounding rocket. NASA selected the Endurance proposal, and with support from H-TIDeS, the team began mission development. Collinson’s team designed and built an early prototype set of optics that successfully demonstrated the DESA concept with support from NASA Goddard’s Internal Research and Development (IRAD) program.īased on these results, Collinson proposed Endurance-a rocket mission that would use the new technology-to NASA SMD’s Heliophysics Technology and Instrument Development for Science (H-TIDeS) Program in 2018. (Image credit: NASA/Brian Bonsteel)īeginning with a series of computer simulations in 2016, Collinson led the development of a concept for a new type of plasma analyzer called the Dual Electron Spectral Analyzer (DESA) that, in theory, would have the resolution to measure Earth’s very weak electric potential. Left: One of eight Dual Electron Spectral Analyzer (DESA) flight units developed for Endurance (Image credit: Glyn Collinson) Right: The DESA sensors mounted aboard Endurance prior to launch. “However, I realized we were going to need an entirely new type of spaceborne instrument to do so.” Glyn Collinson, Principal Investigator for the Endurance rocket mission. “After the European Space Agency’s Venus Express mission successfully measured Venus’ electric potential, we had a blueprint of how we might go about gauging Earth’s,” says Dr. In fact, Earth’s potential is so weak that it had frustrated all past attempts to measure it. Scientists believe that Earth’s electric potential is far weaker and cannot pull these heavy atoms away from Earth, a feature that may be a factor in Earth’s habitability. Such a potential was first measured at Venus, where it was discovered to be strong enough to pull water and oxygen out of the Venusian atmosphere. This electrical field is a fundamental property of such planets and can pull heavy ions such as oxygen and nitrogen up away from the surface so they dissipate into space. To achieve this milestone, NASA developed a new type of spectrometer that measures the energy of plasmas with extremely high resolution.Įvery planet with an atmosphere also possesses an ionosphere that generates a weak electrical potential. NASA has launched the Endurance rocket to attempt to make the first measurements of Earth’s global electric potential, whose lack of strength may be one reason Earth can support life. (Image credit: NASA/Brian Bonsteel)The Endurance rocket launched from Ny Ålesund, Svalbard on May 11, 2022. Someone from the digital team will be in contact.The Endurance rocket launched from Ny Ålesund, Svalbard on May 11, 2022. To learn more about iRAD or to find out how you can get involved with the program, please send us an email.
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