The ionosphere measurement technology of Langmuir probe on China seismo-electromagnetic satellite
Authors: Liu Chao  , Guan Yi-Bing  , Zhang Ai-Bing  , Zheng Xiang-Zhi  , Sun Yue-Qiang  ,   National Space Science Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China;,   Beijing Key Laboratory of Space Environment Exploration, Beijing 100190, China
Published: December 2020

China seismo-electromagnetic satellite (CSES) is launched to detect the electromagnetic environment in space for the study of seismic early warning. Langmuir probe is one of the payloads of the CSES satellite, and it is the first time that the Langmuir probe technique has been used in the Chinese satellite. The use of the Langmuir probe is to measure the space plasma parameters, such as electron density (Ne), electron temperature (Te), and to identify the instantaneous change of the space plasma.
The Langmuir probe payload is composed of three parts, i.e., two sensors, two rods, and one electronics box. The sensor is installed at the top of the rod to extend out of the satellite surface, and is parallel to the direction of the satellite orbit. The electronics box is installed inside the satellite which includes the sweep voltage circuit, sensor signal circuit, DPU control and processing circuit, the satellite interface circuit, power supply circuit, etc.
The sensor is spherical. Its upper hemisphere is a collecting electrode, and its lower hemisphere is a protective electrode. The same sweep voltage is applied to the upper hemisphere and the lower one which can eliminate the terminal effect of the connecting point between the traditional spherical structure and the rod. The diameters of the two sensors are respectively 50 and 10 mm, and the surface areas of the two sensors are respectively 1/2000 and 1/13000 times the satellite surface area. The stability of the satellite ground potential is not affected by the sweep voltages on the sensors. In addition, TiN material is coated on the sensor surface to ensure a uniform surface work function, and to prevent the space atomic oxygen erosion. The decontamination function is designed for the Langmuir probe to eliminate the possible pollution on the orbit. A positive 100 V voltage is applied to the sensor to accelerate electrons to bombard the sensor surface, thereby removing the contamination from the sensor surface. The advantage of the electron bombardment effect is that the TiN film is not damaged, meanwhile the positive 100 V voltage has high reliability and safety on orbit. The decontamination function has been proved to be effective by the test in Italy National Institute for Astrophysics-Institute for Space Astrophysics and Planetology (INAF-IAPS).
The plasma environment calibration test of the Langmuir probe is carried out in INAF-IAPS. We measure the electron density and temperature at three different distances from the plasma source, and compare the results with the measured results of the INAF-IAPS reference Langmuir probe. Results show that the test data of our Langmuir probe are consistent with the INAF-IAPS reference data. Our Langmuir probe design is proved to be feasible to achieve the missions of the satellite.