Flight demonstration of a CubeSat Sporadic-E detector

The Triple Magnesium Ionospheric Photometer (Tri-MIP) has been developed as a 1U CubeSat-compatible sensor to detect a mid-ultraviolet (MUV), Mg + doublet emission near 280 nm, produced by solar resonant excitation, as a tracer of dayside Sporadic-E (Es). The initial flight of Tri-MIP on the Slingshot-1 spacecraft launched into a circular orbit at 500 km altitude and 45 ° inclination. Paired with a 1U scanning ultraviolet mirror (SUVM) on the Slingshot-1 spacecraft, Tri-MIP provides altitude profiles of Mg + airglow emissions through limb scans of Earth’s ionosphere along the wake direction of the orbit. Tri-MIP is especially well-suited for Es detection and may allow for the observation of faint signatures of Es that are otherwise not visible with other commonly used remote plasma detection methods such as ground-based ionosondes or GPS radio occultation experiments. This manuscript presents a highlight of results from a year of on-orbit operation for the Slingshot-1 Tri-MIP. The following results demonstrate a new technological development that could provide future insight into Es formation or dynamics.