Use of a Langmuir Probe Instrument on Board a Pico-Satellite

The sweeping Langmuir probe instrument is a part of the payload of PICo-satellite for atmospheric and space science observations (PICASSO), an ESA in-orbit demonstrator. It includes four thin cylindrical probes whose electrical potential is swept to measure both plasma density and electron temperature together with the spacecraft (S/C) potential. PICASSO is a triple unit CubeSat of dimensions 340.5 mm x 100 mm x 100 mm. The orbit is expected to be a high inclination low-earth orbit. The main issue implied by the use of a pico-satellite platform for a Langmuir probe instrument is the limited conducting area of the S/C, which leads to S/C charging and drift of the instrument's electrical ground during the measurement. A specific measurement technique that includes the simultaneous measurement of the potential and current of different probes has been developed to retrieve consistent current-voltage characteristics that can be used to estimate the plasma parameters mentioned above.