1. STCE Meeting – 08/06/2009 PARTICIPATING IN SPACE/GROUND-BASED EXPERIMENTS (Hervé Lamy - WP BISA C.2) MEMS Magnetometer Radio detection of meteors Polarization of the upper atmosphere

2. STCE Meeting – 08/06/2009 MEMS Magnetometer Development of a miniature magnetometer with MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems) with low mass, low size, low consumption, same sensitivity and performances. Several objectives for space applications: Embark onboard a fleet of micro-,nano-, or pico- satellites in order to carry out multi-point measurements Several magnetometers inside the s/c to measure the magnetic perturbation due to the satellite  boomless magnetometers + less restrictive magnetic cleanliness

3. STCE Meeting – 08/06/2009 MEMS Magnetometer XBM Xylophone Bar Magnetometer Based on a classical xylophone resonating bar

4. STCE Meeting – 08/06/2009 MEMS Magnetometer XBM Collaboration with Centre Spatial de Liège (CSL, Pierre Rochus), LTAS (ULg, Véronique Rochus) and MicroWave Laboratory (Jean-Pierre Raskin, UCL) Parametric/analytic studies of the parameters influencing the deflection (by Innocent Nyonzima, engineer student at ULg): dimensions of the bar material used (module de Young, thermal conductivity, etc…) external parameters (temperature, pressure) maximal current (Joule effect, thermoelastic damping) Simulations with finite elements method carried out with OOFELIE (multi-physics problems)

5. STCE Meeting – 08/06/2009 MEMS Magnetometer XBM 2 prototypes built in the Microwave Laboratory at UCL Measurements will start this summer (LTAS, CSL) A GSTP will be introduced to ESA later in the year We are looking for an engineer to continue the work

6. STCE Meeting – 08/06/2009 RADIO DETECTION OF METEORS Principle: Advantages: access to a different complementary range of masses (lower than those obtained with optical observations) + detection of daylight showers + …

7. STCE Meeting – 08/06/2009 RADIO DETECTION OF METEORS Collaboration with VVS (Vereniging Voor Sterrenkunde) Emitter = 1 beacon near Yper, emitting vertically at 49.99 MHz, Power of 50 W Existing network of receivers (blue points) mainly in the Northern part of Belgium

8. STCE Meeting – 08/06/2009 RADIO DETECTION OF METEORS A typical receiving station

9. STCE Meeting – 08/06/2009 RADIO DETECTION OF METEORS Extension of the current network, in particular in the south of Belgium (already several candidates like Redu, Neuchâteau, Spa, Nandrin). One station at BISA. Each station produces approximately 1 Gb of data per day.BISA will collect and store these data, process them and make them available for the scientific community. Addition of a new beacon emitting at a slightly different frequency. Location still to be decided (but in south of Belgium to have a completely different geometry)

10. STCE Meeting – 08/06/2009 RADIO DETECTION OF METEORS Other goals : Mid-term: Use simultaneous detections of meteor echoes to retrieve trajectories of the meteoroids. Long-term : Relationships to comets and asteroids, important information on the solar system origin. Better characterizing of space environments, input for SPENVIS.

11. STCE Meeting – 08/06/2009 POLARIZATION OF THE UPPER ATMOSPHERE Thermospheric emissions have always been assumed unpolarized: ok for green line but never really measured and/or theoretically studied for the red line. Red line assumed unpolarized due to its long lifetime (110 sec)  collisions must lead to depolarization BUT …

12. STCE Meeting – 08/06/2009 POLARIZATION OF THE UPPER ATMOSPHERE Measurements by Jean Lilensten et al in 2005 with a new dedicated photo-polarimeter (POLARLIS) located in Svaalbard. POLARLIS experiment: polar cap

13. STCE Meeting – 08/06/2009 POLARIZATION OF THE UPPER ATMOSPHERE Lilensten et al (2008)

14. STCE Meeting – 08/06/2009 POLARIZATION OF THE UPPER ATMOSPHERE Space weather applications: Tracer of the geomagnetic activity New observable to constrain thermospheric models Extension of this study to other planetary atmospheres and other lines BISA is involved in the development of this project to measure the polarization of the red line in auroral regions Collaboration with the ALIS (Auroral Large Imaging System) team

15. STCE Meeting – 08/06/2009 POLARIZATION OF THE UPPER ATMOSPHERE 6 stations equipped with CCD cameras  tomographic capabilities Feasibility of the measurement of the polarization of auroral lines with the current ALIS cameras Coordinated campaign ALIS/POLARLIS (on mainland) in 2010 Development of a new instrument dedicated to polarization + possibility of using empty existing ALIS stations.

16. STCE Meeting – 08/06/2009 POLARIZATION OF THE UPPER ATMOSPHERE Workshop « Space Environments Polarization: Applications to Geophysics and planetary Environments » Organized at BISA, 12-14 October 2009 Main topics: observations (Earth, other planets, comets, exoplanets), spectral lines of interest, instrumental designs, theory of polarization. http://www.pola.oma.be

17. STCE Meeting – 08/06/2009 THANK YOU