Study of debris-plasma interaction in the Earth’s ionosphere

We will present first-principles modeling and experimental results of the debris-plasma interaction that inform under which conditions ion-acoustic solitons could be generated in low-Earth-Orbit (LEO). The increasing number of small debris (>10 cm) orbiting the Earth represent a threat for present and future space assets. Unfortunately, small (sub-cm) particles cannot be detected with ground-based assets and currently there is no dedicated orbital debris detection sensor in space. Hence, new methods for characterization, detection, tracking and possibly removal of this class of orbital debris are greatly needed. A new way of detecting these small orbital debris has been proposed via ion-acoustic solitons (non-linear waves) generated by the interaction between supersonic-small-debris and Earth’s plasma environment [1–8]. Such plasma signatures can be detected as ion density enhancement traveling away from the debris which makes them good candidates for small debris detection. Using our first-principles modeling tools [9], we explored different regimes of the debris-plasma interaction to assess under which conditions solitons can form. We explore variations on plasma conditions relevant for space and laboratory plasmas, as wells as variations on charging conditions on the debris. Additionally, we present results from experiments performed at the Los Alamos National Laboratory to validate some of the modeling results.