Numerical Simulation of a Combined Time Domain Impedance Probe and Plasma Wave Receiver System for Small Satellite Applications

A Plasma Impedance Probe measures electron density and electron neutral collision frequencies in the ionosphere. This instrument has been tested on a sounding rocket flight and is now being further developed to fly on a NASA Undergraduate Student Instrument Program (USIP) cubesat to be launched out of the ISS in 2019. Here we report on the development of a new combined PIP and plasma wave instrument from a computational perspective. The new instrument can be used on cubesat platforms to measure local electron parameters, and also to receive or transmit electron scale waves. Two dipole antennas will be used. One is optimized for impedance measurements, while the other is optimized for transmitter-receiver performance. Here we use Finite Difference Time Domain (FDTD) simulations of an electrically long antenna immersed in a magnetized plasma to analyze the configuration.