Multi-point measurements of the plasma properties inside an aurora from
the SPIDER sounding rocket
Abstract
The Small Payloads for Investigation of Disturbances in Electrojet by
Rockets (SPIDER) sounding rocket was launched on February 2nd 2016
(21:09 UT), deploying ten free falling units (FFUs) inside a westward
travelling auroral surge. Each FFUs deployed spherical electric field
and Langmuir probes on wire-booms, providing in situ multi-point
recordings of the electric field and plasma properties. The analytical
retrieval of the plasma parameters, namely the electron density,
electron temperature and plasma potential, from the Langmuir probe
measurements was non-trivial due to sheath effects and detailed
explanation are discussed in this article. An empirical assumption on
the sheath thickness was required, which was confirmed by simulating the
plasma environment around the FFU using the Spacecraft Plasma
Interaction Software (SPIS). In addition, the retrieved electron density
and temperature are also in agreement with the simultaneous incoherent
scatter radar measurements from the EISCAT facility. These two
independent confirmations provided a good level of confidence in the
plasma parameters obtained from the FFUs, and events observed during the
flight are discussed in more details. Hints of drift-wave instabilities
and Hall current introduced by increased electron precipitation inside a
region of enhanced density were observed by the FFUs.